


The Honor of Being Your Friend

by cabooseisneat



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, M/M, Minor Aang/Katara, Ozai’s A+ Parenting, Slow Burn, Swearing, him and zuko are buddies, sokka grows up in the fire nation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24594385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabooseisneat/pseuds/cabooseisneat
Summary: When Zuko was banished, Sokka followed him without hesitation. He thought some time away from The Fire Nation would be good for them, but it’s only made Zuko’s temper worse.Now, as the two grow closer and closer to capturing the Avatar, Sokka can’t help but worry for his friend. He doesn’t want to help Zuko to go back to his horrible father, but just as he promised all those years ago, Sokka will always stay by his side no matter what.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 168
Kudos: 707





	1. Chapter 1

Sokka's morning started out exactly same way it had for the past three years. He was pulled from sleep by a loud banging on his door from one of the many soldiers stationed on their ship. He automatically sat up and groaned, wishing for even just five more minutes of rest. However, he knew from experience that going back to sleep meant an angry prince breaking into his room to haul him out of bed. Stupid fire benders and their rise with the sun crap.

Sokka began his morning routine of getting changed and pulling his hair up, taking his sweet time as a form of protest. He mulled over the two different hair pieces he had, eventually choosing the one Zuko had given him for his birthday last year. Once everything was in place, followed by one final look in the mirror, Sokka headed up to the deck of their war ship. 

He passed a few guards on the way, giving each one a respectful nod. None of them really paid him any mind, but that didn't bother Sokka too much. He'd learned very early on that he had to work to be respected, especially since he was non Fire Nation and a non bender. 

"-need to teach me more than just the basics, Uncle!" Yelled an angry voice that could only belong to one person. 

Sokka smiled to himself. If he could hear Zuko while he was still inside, he must be throwing quite the fit. 

Sokka finally emerged into the open air to the scene of Zuko surrounded by four Fire Nation soldiers. They were engaged in training, fire spewing everywhere. Sokka spotted Iroh on the far side of the deck, studying the fighting as he sipped some tea. He made his way over to the older man, who set down his cup and smiled at the sight of him. 

"Ah, Sokka! Good morning! It is so nice of you to finally join us." Iroh teased, a bright look in his eyes. "Could I interest you in a cup of tea? I've been experimenting with a new blend, and my dear nephew refuses to try it." 

Sokka glanced over at Zuko, who had taken down two of his four opponents, before fixing Iroh with a grin. "I would love to. Some people just don't understand your craftsmanship." 

Iroh chuckled, grabbing the pot from the small table next to him. "This is why you're my favorite." 

"You're my favorite too, Uncle." Sokka replied cheerily, taking the cup from him after he'd poured it. He took a sip of it. "This is really good!" 

Iroh looked pleased with himself. 

Sokka took a longer drink, his eyes drifting back to Zuko, who was now facing his last opponent. The other man looked ragged and tired, while Zuko was only breathing a little harder than normal. Even though Sokka liked to give him a hard time, he was actually really impressed with Zuko's firebending progress. He remembers when they were just children, running around the palace garden, and Zuko could barely even produce a flame. 

Iroh's clapping brought Sokka out of his happy memories, making him realize that he'd been zoning out. Zuko has taken down the last man, and was walking over to them with his normal scowl.

"Well done, Nephew!" Iroh congratulated him. 

Zuko scoffed in response. "I could have taken them down faster if you had taught me the advanced moves." He said in an angry voice, which just kinda sounded like whining.

"And you!" Zuko rounded on Sokka, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Where were you!? I wanted to plan out our next route, and you were nowhere to be found!" 

"First of all, I was sleeping. You should know this about me, we've been friends for more than eight years." Sokka replied easily, not even the tiniest bit intimidated by the firebender in front of him. "Secondly, I've been reviewing our course over the past few days, just as you asked thank you very much, and picked out a few key places we could stop, including a supply run to a town that has tea for Uncle."

Iroh smiled a little wider as Zuko seemed to relax a tiny bit.

"Thirdly," Sokka placed both his hands on Zuko's shoulders. "You need to take a few seconds and breathe."

Zuko instantly scowled, throwing Sokka's hands off and taking a step back. "What I need to do, is find the Avatar!" He growled. 

Sokka and Iroh exchanged a quick, concerned look.

"Of course, Prince Zuko." Iroh agreed in a placating tone. "We all agree that capturing the Avatar is top priority-"

"However," Sokka butted in, crossing his arms. "you are working yourself to death to find this guy. The Avatar is not going to do you any good if you're dead. Besides, he's waited over a hundred years to return! I think you can take an hour to relax-"

A loud boom cut Sokka off, as a gigantic pillar of light shot into the sky. The three of them stood there in shock for a moment, before Zuko finally broke the silence.

"The Avatar!" He cried, pointing to where the light had just been. 

"Well fuck me." Sokka mumbled as Zuko took off towards some crew members that had appeared on the deck to find out what was going on. He began shouting orders at them as Iroh placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder. Sokka turned to face the older man, who suddenly looked more serious than just a few moments before. 

"I don't know what this is, but I can not be with my Nephew every time. You're going to be the one who's always at Zuko's side. Please watch over him." Iroh said, worry laced all throughout his features. 

"You didn't even need to ask." Sokka replied assuredly.

Iroh let his hand drop back down to his side, giving Sokka a caring smile. Sokka grinned in return, before turning towards where Zuko was still yelling at various crew members. 

He ran over to him and threw an arm around the angry prince, who seemed to become even more pissed off at his action. 

"What the hell do you-!"

"You guys heard the man!" Sokka yelled at their crew, promptly cutting Zuko off. "We've got an Avatar to find!"

———

"I think that's the second time we've passed that iceberg." Iroh idly commented, staring out the window in the ship's navigation room. 

Zuko growled, throwing a dirty look his direction. "Well maybe if you'd help us-!"

Sokka just ignored the two, continuing to study the giant maps that lay spread out on the table in front of him. They had steered the ship towards the source of the bright light, only to find nothing but a weirdly shaped iceberg. Zuko, of course, had gotten angry, until Sokka had pointed out that there was a Water Tribe Village somewhere nearby. The two of them had agreed that that was the most likely place for the Avatar to hide out, and set sail looking for it.

The only problem, however, was that they couldn't even find a trace of the place. 

"They must be using the snow as camouflage." Zuko muttered, finally calmed down from his outburst. He stepped closer to Sokka to look at the same map he was viewing. 

Sokka nodded. "The village must be small as well. We assumed it to be big, seeing as it's home to the only Water Tribe people in the area, but we would have seen it by now."

"There was a raid there, several years ago." Iroh offered as an explication. Both boys turned to face him. "Many of their people were taken or killed." 

Sokka's eyes narrowed slightly as Iroh fixed his gaze on him, seemingly waiting for... something. Sokka couldn't stand the scrutiny for long, trying to return his attention on the map. Iroh's words felt heavy to him for some unexplainable reason. 

Suddenly, one of their soldiers burst into the room. Zuko turned to him with a scowl, ready to berate him for disturbing them, but was cut off. 

"Several men spotted a Fire Nation flare go off in the distance, sir!" The soldier told them, catching the attention of all three of them. "We think it may have come from the village!"

Sokka's eyes widened in surprise. Man, wasn't that convenient? He glanced over at Zuko, who had a manic gleam in his eyes that Sokka didn't like one bit. 

It reminded him of the Fire Lord.

"Head straight for where the flare came from!" Zuko demanded as the soldier bowed slightly and took off. The prince turned to Sokka and grabbed his wrist, starting to pull him out of the room. "Come on! We need to get prepared!"

Sokka waved goodbye to Iroh with his one free hand, receiving a small smile in return before he was out of sight. Zuko dragged Sokka down the creaking, metal hallways of the ship, towards their rooms. 

When they arrived, Zuko finally let go of Sokka's arm, lightly shoving him towards his door. 

"Get ready as fast as possible, I'll be waiting for you." Zuko commanded, turning towards his own room and opening the door to enter. However, he was stopped by Sokka's hand on his shoulder, and looked back to see what the other boy wanted. 

"Don't work yourself up too much, Zuko. If this really is the Avatar, the two of us will catch him for sure." Sokka reassured him with a blinding grin. "We're going to get you home, no matter what." 

Zuko just stared at him with an unrecognizable look on his face, before turning around quickly. "...Thank you." He said quietly, slipping into his room and shutting the door behind him. 

Sokka's smile turned sad as Zuko disappeared. The joy he'd displayed earlier was replaced with a familiar, hollow feeling that settled heavily in his chest. One that yelled at him not to let Zuko return to that bastard of a man he called father. 

But he couldn't. 

Sokka sighed heavily, leaning his head against the warm metal of Zuko's door and closing his eyes.

‘I'm going to help you catch the Avatar.’ He thought determinedly, clenching one of his hands into a fist. ‘I'll do anything to make you happy.’


	2. Chapter 2

Once Sokka had finally finished getting suited up, he headed to the deck of the ship. His hand rested firmly on the hilt of his sword, which hung at his hip as he finally came out into the sunlight. The air around him was crisp and cold, not surprising granted where they were, but it felt comforting to him. 

Sokka's eyes following the pure white landscape around him, eventually noticing Zuko and a few soldiers near the front of the boat. Sokka made his way over to them, and clapped Zuko on the shoulder. 

The prince turned to him, scowling. "Finally. We're almost to the village."

"You say that like you didn't expect me to show up! I'm wounded, Zu." Sokka replied dramaticly, placing a hand over his heart. 

Zuko crossed his arms, clearly used to Sokka's sarcasm. "This is no time to be joking around! The Avatar-!"

Sokka groaned loudly, interrupting him. "I know, I know! The Avatar!" 

He paused and took a deep breath to himself from getting angry. "I know how important this is to you, ok? Hell, we've been hunting this guy for three years! That's seems pretty serious to me! However, you can't let this consume you."

Sokka looked directly into Zuko's eyes. "Please."

Zuko stared at him for a moment, giving Sokka a little hope that he'd gotten through the prince's thick head, but eventually turned away, breaking their connection. 

"All that matters is getting my honor back." Zuko growled quietly, clenching his smoking fists. "All that matters is going back home." 

'Back to him' The unspoken words hung between the two, causing Sokka's gut to twist uncomfortably. He frowned, not saying another word, and stepped up next to Zuko. 

Sokka returned his gaze to the landscape, choosing to instead focus on trying to spot the Water Tribe village. He didn't understand why Zuko had to be so difficult! How had he not realized yet who his true family was? How did he not know that Sokka and Iroh were his family, not that horrible man he called father, or his demon of a sister?

Sokka squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will away all his thoughts and desperate questions. It would do him no good to get worked up right before they landed.

A few more minutes past as the two stood side by side in silence, waiting to arrive. Finally, Sokka spotted a few brown specks in the distance. He knew Zuko had seen them too, when the boy tensed next to him. 

Getting closer, Sokka realized they were houses. Well, not really houses, but more like tents or small shacks. It struck him that these people had almost nothing in comparison to the Fire Nation. This was it?

"Are you ready?" Zuko asked him, more of a probe to see if he was still angry than a genuine question. 

Sokka nodded, his hand returning to the hilt of his sword. "Let's find the Avatar."

The ship shuddered to a stop, plowing into the snow stacked around the village. The front detached and swung down, hitting the ground with a muffled thud. Zuko began the descent first, Sokka following closely behind. 

Terrified faces watched them step down into the snow. Mothers hid children behind their legs. Sokka swept the crowd, noticing that it was entirely women and kids, no men in sight. It made his stomach twist with guilt, and he could only hope that Zuko didn't mean to do too much damage here. 

"Where is the Avatar?" Zuko demanded, his eyes flickering from person to person. "I know you have him! Bring him to me!"

He stepped forward, grabbing an old woman near the frown of the crowd, and dragging her towards him. "He would be about this age!" 

A flash of blue in the corner of Sokka's eye was the only warning he got, before a man jumped out to attack Zuko with a spear. Sokka had just barely drawn his sword in time to block the strike, their two weapons clashing together. 

Time seemed to freeze as Sokka got a good look at the man. His hair was dark brown, about shoulder length, and his eyes a deep blue. A strong feeling of familiarity washed over Sokka, but he tried to ignore it. Now was not the time or place to be getting distracted. 

The man quickly retreated a few steps and assumed a fighting stance. "Let her go. You will not bring harm to these people."

Zuko turned to him and sneered. "That all depends on whether you savages give me what I want. Bring me the Avatar!" 

"I'd do what he says." Sokka added on, positioning himself as a guard between the man and Zuko. "You really don't want to see what he's like when he's angry."

"We haven't seen the Avatar!" A younger voice called out from the crowd, drawing everyone's attention. 

Faintly, Sokka heard the man gasp, a quiet "Katara, no!" escaping his lips. 

"He's been missing for a hundred years!" The girl continued. "Why would we have him?"

Zuko growled, sending a wave of fire in the direction of the crowd. The women loudly exclaimed in fear, scrambling to get out of its range. 

"You're lying to me! I will burn down this entire place, one building at a time, unless you give him to me!" The fire prince snarled, worrying Sokka enough to draw his attention away from the man with the spear. 

That split second of distraction was all the Water Tribesman needed to get the upper hand. He quickly lunged toward, knocking Sokka off balance. He fell backwards into the snow and rolled to the side to dodge the man's follow up strike. Sokka got back to his feet as fast as possible, just barely able to block the next attack. 

"Everyone stop!" A childish voice called, interrupting their fight. 

Sokka watched as a young boy with a long... stick? clamored over a nearby snow bank, running over to stand in front of the girl who had spoken before. 

"It's me! I'm the Avatar!" The boy announced, placing his free hand on his hip. "Leave them alone, and I'll go with you without a fight."

"Aang no!" Katara exclaimed in worry. 

"You're the Avatar?" Zuko questioned harshly, taking a step closer to Aang. "You're just a child!"

Aang tilted his head to the side. "Well, you're just a teenager."

Zuko scowled, dramatically turning towards the ship. "Take him! We're leaving this village unharmed for now."

As he made his way back onto the deck, Sokka sent the man he'd been fighting a smug smile to gloat that he'd technically won. He walked over to the Avatar and grabbed the boy by the arm, pulling out a length of rope to tie his wrists together. Sokka once again felt guilt trying to worm its way into his chest, at the sad, longing look on Aang's face. He squashed it down as best he could, and dragged the Avatar roughly onto the ship. 

Aang followed along without resistance, sending a fleeting look behind him. Somehow, Sokka knew that it was for the girl, Katara.

———

"Why are you with these firebenders?"Aang asked innocently as he was lead down one of the creaking metal hallways of their ship. 

Sokka side eyed him suspiciously, tightening his grip on the boy's arm. "Why would you assume I'm not Fire Nation? I thought it was pretty clear from the red clothes.” 

"Your eyes, they're blue." Aang replied, making Sokka grit his teeth. "Only people from the Water Tribe have-"

"I know." Sokka said suddenly, firmly ending the conversation right there. 

Aang was mostly silent for the rest of their walk, only staring at the other with a funny expression on his face. The scrutiny made Sokka want to squirm. 

Right before they reached the ship's tiny holding area, Aang spoke up again. 

"You've never fought an airbender before, have you?" He questioned, still looking at Sokka. "I bet no one here has."

Sokka raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, I would be impressed if someone actually had, seeing as how they've been dead for a hundred years or so."

"Good!" The Avatar exclaimed, before suddenly exhaling and shooting straight up into the air. 

Sokka exclaimed loudly as he was knocked away, his back slamming into the wall behind him. 

"Sorry!" Aang laughed joyfully and sped off, boosted by his airbending. 

Sokka pulled himself up and took off after the boy. If he didn't catch the Avatar again, who knows what Zuko would do to him.

As Sokka rounded the corner, his eyes widened as he watched Aang fly right over two solders. Somehow, he had angled his body just right to cut the ropes that bound his wrists behind his back. Sokka pushed past them, continuing his pursuit. 

The one thing he noticed while chasing Aang was that the boy never used force unless he absolutely had to. His style of fighting was all dodging and misdirection. It was very different from how he'd been taught to fight in the Fire Nation.

Running around another corner, Sokka was stopped dead in his tracks by one of the main rooms that had many soldiers mulling around inside. He desperately looked around, trying to find Aang, but had no luck. 

"Did any of you see the Avatar run through here?" Sokka asked, turning towards some of the men next to him.

One scoffed in his face. "You lost the Avatar? Great going. Just what I'd expect from a nonbender like you."

Sokka clenched his fist, wanting very badly to put this guy in his place, but took off towards the deck of the ship instead. If Aang wanted to escape, he'd have to go there. Sokka knew that catching him was more important than his own petty revenge, at least for the moment. 

Once Sokka finally made it up into to open air, he looked around wildly for the Avatar. However, everything seemed to be normal. It didn't even seem like most of the ship even knew that Aang was loose. 

Sokka was about to head back inside, when a loud whoop drew his attention to the sky. Aang had just dove off of one of the upper balconies, and was now flying around with some type of glider on his back. 

Before Sokka could even react, to his complete, horrified surprise, Zuko jumped out after him and grabbed onto one of Aang's legs. The Avatar gave a shout of surprise as the two rapidly plummeted towards the deck. 

They landed together with a loud, metallic thud, and both quickly scrambled to their feet. As soon as he was able to, Zuko began to relentlessly attack Aang. He shot streaks of fire at the boy, who once again was only trying to dodge. 

Sokka desperately wanted to help fight, but he knew this was Zuko's battle, his alone. 

Aang continued to be driven back, beginning to get dangerously close to the edge of the ship. One final strike from Zuko sent him all the way over. Sokka gaped at the prince, who was panting heavily with his fists still raised. 

Suddenly, the ocean around them began to churn, waves crashing harshly against the side of the ship. A giant, swirling pillar of water rose up above them with Aang at the top. His eyes, glowing bright and unnatural, locked onto Zuko. 

Sokka was spurred into action as the Avatar landed on the deck, right in front of Zuko who was frozen in shock. He ran towards the prince, hand desperately out stretched, but was too late. 

The water came crashing down on Zuko, sending him and the several soldiers around him off the edge of the ship.

"No!" Sokka cried out, ignoring Aang as he dropped to the floor unconscious. He sprinted towards the edge, looking over to see if he could spot where Zuko had landed in the water. 

Sokka laughed in relief, seeing Zuko hanging onto the anchor that adorned the side of the ship. He rushed over to stand right above it, and reached his arm down to help Zuko up. The prince took his hand, and Sokka hauled him back aboard. 

As soon as Zuko was next to him, Sokka threw his arms around the other boy. He was so grateful that he was ok. Sokka couldn't stand to see him hurt, ever since that day three years ago.

To his surprise, however, Zuko immediately threw him off and launched a fire ball up into the sky. 

A gigantic, flying creature swerved out of the way of the blast, and flew off. 

"Shoot them down!" Zuko yelled at the remaining soldiers, pointing to the beast. 

A few more streams of fire launched, but none came close. The Avatar disappeared into the distance. 

Zuko fell to his hands and knees, gritting his teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut. Sokka looked at him in worry, taking a step closer. 

"Zuko-"

"This is your fault." The prince hissed at him, raising his burning, golden eyes to meet Sokka's. "I trusted you to keep him secure! I trusted you with with my honor, and you let it escape!"

Zuko was now standing, pointing an accusing finger his direction. "You pulled me up instead of going after the Avatar when he was down!"

Sokka scowled, taking a threatening step closer to Zuko. "Do you even hear yourself!? You're so concerned with restoring your honor that you don't even give two shits about yourself! You could have really been injured! You could have died-!"

"That doesn't matter!" Zuko yelled back, shocking Sokka. "You are beneath me! I am the captain of this ship! You are nothing more than one of those savages we just faced, playing pretend as one of my solders."

The anger drained out of Sokka as Zuko harshly turned away from him, storming off down into the ship. He covered his face with his hands, unable to stop the deep ache that came from Zuko's words.

Sokka could deal with insults, he had been for his entire life, but to hear them from Zuko, his best friend? 

He thought Zuko was different from the rest of them.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, making him flinch. Sokka turned to see that it was just Iroh, a saddened expression on his face. 

"Come along now, my dear boy." Iroh said gently. "I've got some tea waiting for you."


	3. Chapter 3

Sokka was alone. 

He’d been taken away from his parents, from his sister that he had only just begun to get to know. Now, the only things that surrounded him were the thick, metal walls of whatever Fire Nation prison they had thrown him in. It was nothing like the village he'd been ripped away from, where everyone wore friendly smiles and waved to him when he walked past. This place, despite being in the Fire Nation, was colder than home.

At the very least, he was mostly left alone. Sokka was eternally grateful that the other inmates and guards didn't approach him. The most he'd gotten was a few curious glances, ones that questioned what a mere child had done to end up in such a place. None of their looks held any pity or kindness, and Sokka didn't think that these people were capable of such a thing.

He spent his first few days huddled up in his cell. Tears constantly stained his cheeks as he stayed curled up in a ball on top of the thin mat they'd given him to sleep on. Sokka had spent hours upon hours in his tiny cell, questioning what he'd done to deserve such a terrible punishment. The thought kept him awake, backed by the horrific screams of the other prisoners as they were punished by guards for stepping out of line. The faces of his family constantly flashed through his mind. He was terrified of forgetting them. 

What would he do when he couldn't remember what his mother looked like anymore? If he somehow managed to escape, would he ever be able to find them again? How would he-!

"Are you alright?" a timid voice broke through Sokka's growing hysteria. 

His head snapped up, eyes locking onto a small, raven haired boy that stood in the doorway of his cell. 

"My name is..." The boy stopped to think for a moment, “...Lee. I saw you and noticed that we were around the same age. You never come out during meals times." The boy continued, starting to squirm under Sokka's intense gaze. "I brought you some stew."

He pulled out a small bowl from behind his back, which was filled with a brownish, chunky liquid.   
Sokka just continued to stare at him, not really believing that someone here would actually care about his well being. It had to be some kind of a trap. 

As the silence stretched on, Sokka refusing to stand and engage Lee, the other slowly seemed to give up. Sokka felt a stab of success run through him at driving the other away, before he noticed the sad gleam in the boy's eyes. He couldn't stand it, choosing instead to stare intently at the floor. 

"I... I guess I'll just leave this here." Lee muttered quietly, not able to stand the rejection any longer. He slowly bent down and placed it on the stone floor. "Please eat it." 

Sokka made the mistake of taking one last look at the other, and their eyes locked. He was instantly flooded by a trusting feeling, one that told him that Lee had genuinely meant him no harm. In this place of criminals and murderers, was another little boy, just like him, that had been taken away from his family. 

Sokka quickly wiped away his tears as the other turned to leave. He scrambled to get to his feet, and lunged towards the boy, grabbing ahold of his arm tightly.

The other looked back at him in surprise, and Sokka felt himself stutter a little at the happiness that was on his face as well. 

"Thank you." Sokka replied quietly, his voice slightly rough. 

Lee smiled softly at him, which Sokka had no idea how he even could even bare to, and took both his hands. 

"My mother says that's it's important to be kind to everyone, even when they don't deserve it." He bent down and grabbed the stew with one hand, the other still holding tightly onto Sokka's. "And I think that you deserve it more than anyone else here." 

With those words Sokka broken down, throwing his arms around this boy he had just met. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he openly sobbed, burying his face in the other's chest. Lee seemed a bit awkward, not that Sokka noticed in the moment, but his arms eventually wrapped around the crying boy in an attempt to comfort him.

Sokka was overcome by a rush of thankfulness to have someone here with him, someone who understood what was going on, someone who understood how painful the separation really was.   
"When my mom comes for me, I'm going to bring you with me." Lee said firmly, drawing Sokka's gaze up towards him. 

He said it was such confidence, such certainty that he was going to be rescued, that Sokka almost believed him. He felt a small flicker of hope that these cold, metal walls wouldn't be surrounding him for the rest of his life and he never wanted the feeling to stop. If Lee could believe that hard and that assuredly, then maybe Sokka could too. If they stuck together, then maybe he would have a chance to be free once more.

———

Sokka wasn’t going to let himself cry. He hadn’t done so in such a long time, and he didn’t want Zuko to be the one that made him break. 

“Here you go.” Sokka looked up to see Iroh enter his bedroom, carrying a tray with tea set on it. Faint steam rose out of the pot’s opening. 

Iroh placed whole thing down on the table next to Sokka’s bed, and offered him a cup. Sokka smiled weakly in response. The older man grabbed his own cup, and sat down beside him. 

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound between them the sloshing of tea. 

Eventually, Sokka spoke up, his voice small. “Do you think Zuko really meant what he said?” 

Iroh looked over at him thoughtfully, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “No. What Prince Zuko said, was said out of anger and frustration. He truly does not think those things of you.” 

“Then why did he have to take out his frustrations on me? I’ve done nothing but stand by his side! I...” Sokka’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know what more he wants from me.”

Iroh took another sip of his tea. 

“While Prince Zuko did not mean those words, he never should have said them to you. He does not get a pass for treating his friend that way.” He continued. “He would be lost, completely consumed by pleasing his father if it weren’t for you.”

Sokka looked over at Iroh with a scoff. “Seems like he’s already pretty far up Ozai’s ass to me.” He muttered bitterly. 

Iroh chuckled quietly, before his joy turned into a solum look. “That is sadly true. However, you are a positive influence on my nephew. Prince Zuko has been very stressed lately, but you can still get him to smile sometimes. I am fearful for what he may have become without you.”

Sokka set his finished tea aside and looked down, linking his fingers together. “I know I have to be patient. I know I have to look out for him, I want to look out for him... He just makes it so hard.”

Sokka took a deep breath, trying to ignore the wetness in the corners of his eyes. “I want my friend back, Uncle. I want the old Zuko, who would train with me and wouldn’t get angry at me, the one who saw us as equals, as partners. We said that we’d always stick together, despite what the Fire Nation threw at us, but we’ve only drifted further apart. I just wanted to make Zuko happy, but I can’t even accomplish that.”

Iroh’s hand began to gently rub his back. “People change, dear boy. As much as I too wish to see Prince Zuko as that happy little boy from years ago, he’s not that person anymore. The only thing we can do is support him, and guide him to the right path in hopes that he changes for the better. Prince Zuko himself is the only one who gets to decide which way his fate leads.”

Iroh took his hand away, making Sokka glance up at him. The other man smiled gently.

“However, I still believe that my nephew possesses a good heart. He will eventually find that the honor he’s seeking lies not with his father, but with his own freedom.” 

“...I believe that too.” Sokka replied quietly. “I just hope, for all our sakes, that it happens sometime soon.”


	4. Chapter 4

Several hours later, Sokka was still moping around in his room. He had debated leaving to go find Zuko and demand that he apologize, but that wouldn't teach him anything. 

It was tough waiting for Zuko to come to him. The longer he stewed in his room, the more annoyed Sokka became. Did the prince not actually want to make amends?

Or was the idiot too concerned with the Avatar to even acknowledge what he'd said?

Sokka frowned, falling back to lay flat on his bed. All these 'what's ifs' were driving him crazy, only acting to get him more worked up.

'Well good!' He thought bitterly. 'Zuko deserves my anger!'

A loud knock at his bedroom door drew his attention. The only person it could be was Iroh, bringing him more tea. Sokka hauled himself to his feet and shuffled over to the door to open it.

It wasn't him.

Zuko stood on the other side, looking like his normal, grumpy self.

"What do you want?" Sokka asked harshly, very tempted to slam the door in his face.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at him. "It's meal time. When you didn't show up, I thought I'd come get you myself."

Sokka blinked, completely shocked by the sheer audacity of the boy in front of him.

"Excuse me??" He replied loudly. 

Zuko had the nerve to roll his eyes at Sokka. "You don't get to slack off and skip meal times with me and Uncle. We'll be waiting for you upstairs."

And with that, he headed off down the hallway and out of sight. 

Sokka was completely flabbergasted by what had just taken place. Zuko was always pretty bad at apologizing, but this? Just completely ignoring the situation?

If Sokka was only frustrated before, now he was pissed. 

He angrily got dressed and presentable, only deciding to go to be respectful to Uncle. Iroh was the only decent person aboard this ship!

Sokka was fuming by time he finished and began to head up to their meal area. The soldiers that normally poked fun at him as he passed quickly got out of his way. They all seemed to know exactly how furious he was, and didn't want to risk inciting his wrath. 

Sokka finally arrived, slamming the door to the room open. Zuko, who was already seated at the table, had a slightly surprised look on his face, before it morphed to annoyance. Iroh hadn't reacted at all, besides a hint of a smile.

"Finally." Zuko muttered, glancing away from Sokka. "You had the decency to show up."

Sokka grit his teeth. "I'm not here because you commanded it. I only came for Uncle, to show some respect to the one person here who deserves it." 

Sokka took his seat next to Iroh, missing the quick, uncomfortable look that flashed across Zuko's face. 

"I, for one, am glad you joined us, Sokka." Iroh commented, smiling at him pleasantly. 

Sokka nodded back at him. "Of course, Uncle. I would never miss a meal with you."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zuko make a fist. 

"The two of you are insufferable!" The prince growled, pounding his hand on the table.

Sokka turned and scowled at him. "I'm sorry that you can't deal with not being the center of attention. It's pretty sad that you can't last five minutes without some lowly savage acknowledging you." 

Zuko's mouth pressed into a firm line as he looked away, crossing his arms. 

The door to the room opened once again, as a man came in carrying three plates of fish. He set one down in front of each person, oblivious to the clear tension between them.

"I hope you all enjoy this meal, along with some news I heard from a merchant about the Avatar." 

Zuko instantly perked up, forgetting about everything else in light of new information. "Tell me now!"

"Well, he and his traveling companion were seen on Kyoshi Island." The man answered. 

Zuko immediately stood up, his eyes sparkling with opportunity. "Send someone to prepare the rhinos! He's not getting away from me this time."

The man bowed, quickly leaving to carry out Zuko's orders. The prince followed after him, too absorbed in his new mission to remember the two people he'd just left behind. 

Sokka groaned loudly, throwing his hands out in front of him. "He's fucking unbelievable!" He exclaimed. 

Iroh nodded sadly. "My nephew thinks that if he just ignores the situation, it will go away." 

"Yea? Well, I'm pretty fucking good at holding grudges." Sokka muttered bitterly, standing up. "I'm going to take a smaller boat to the island and scout ahead under cover."

"All alone?" Iroh questioned, slightly worried.

Sokka nodded. "I can't stand to be around him right now. I wouldn't be able to stop myself from strangling him." 

"Just please, be careful. I know that you are a capable young man, but do not let your anger obscure your judgement and lead you into trouble." Iroh warned him.

"I'll be fine on my own, Uncle." Sokka answered firmly. "If he wants a professional, serious soldier, then I'll give him one. I'll capture the Avatar before Zuko even steps foot on Kyoshi Island."

———

About thirty minutes after Sokka had left the war ship, he spotted land. This is the one time he was thankful for the incredibly slow speed of the ship. His arms felt slightly tingly from rowing the tiny dingy the whole way, but it wasn't anything that would hinder him. 

Sokka made his way to the shore, and got out once he landed. He stretched quickly, before dragging the boat a bit further inland so it wouldn't get swept back into the ocean. 

The travel time had given Sokka a chance to cool off. Iroh had been right, he needed to focus on his mission, not his anger. Despite this, he could still use this opportunity to show Zuko up. 

He smirked just thinking about the dumb look that would appear on the prince's stupid face when he brought the Avatar to him singlehandedly. It would be so satisfying. 

The boat trip had also given Sokka another benefit, which was time to devise a plan. Since he couldn't rely on defeating the Avatar with bending, he'd had to get creative. 

Sokka scanned the area around him, smirking when his eyes landed on exactly what he needed. A good sized house stood a little ways away from the ocean. It had no sign of human activity, and a clothing line strung up in the front. Several green garments hung from it. 

Sokka snuck his way over to the line, very careful to watch out for anyone who could possibly spot him. If he got caught in Fire Nation red, it would all be over. 

Once he made it to the clothes, Sokka pulled a shirt, and a pair of pants down. They looked to be about his size, but then again, he was just eyeballing it.

A quick change of clothes later, along with tying his hair back differently, and Sokka looked like a new person. The only thing he kept with him was his prized sword, which dangled at his hip. No one would suspect him of being Fire Nation, especially with his blue eyes. This was the one time he was actually thankful for them. 

His old clothes got shoved into the bottom of a laundry basket that had been sitting by the side of the house. It wasn't likely that he'd be able to come back for them. These people would have a heart attack when they finally emptied it out. 

Sokka began to head inland, following the growing number of buildings towards the town. He saw a few people along the way and waved at them kindly. It was a better disguise to act like he was supposed to be there, rather than sneaking around. 

Sokka knew he'd finally arrived, when a large statue of some woman came into view. 

She was dressed up very formally, heavy makeup adorning her. Her face was half painted, with a ladder leaning nearby, like someone had started the process of restoring it and taken a break. 

"And who might you be?" A female voice questioned, causing him to turn. 

In front of him was a girl around his age, dressed almost identically to the statue.

"My name's Lee." Sokka replied easily, smiling at her. "I'm just a traveler hoping to make a pit stop here, in Kyoshi."

The girl looked him up and down. "Why have you got a sword then?" She asked, motioning to the one on his hip.

Sokka laughed in response, patting the hilt. "Are you talking about this little toothpick? It's just a safety measure. I am traveling by myself, you know." 

The girl nodded, looking into his eyes. "That sounds pretty fun. I'm sorry for all the questions, you can never be too careful with the war going on. My name is Suki, I'm a Kyoshi Warrior, one of the guardians of this village."

So, this place has some group protecting it? Great. That just made Sokka's job a lot harder. 

"That's really cool. I've dealt with the Fire Nation in the past, it hasn't been pretty. It would be an honor though, to learn more about your warriors if you would allow me to." He asked politely, hoping she took the bait. 

"Sure." Suki replied, motioning for him to follow her. "I can show you where to pick up supplies for your journey as well."

Sokka walked up beside her, and the two began their way through the village. Several houses and shops lined the path, all of them blanketed in a thin layer of snow. The further they went, the more people appeared, most of them waving cheerily to Suki as they passed. 

"My warriors are dedicated to Avatar Kyoshi, the woman this island is named after. That was her statue right back there." Suki explained. "We have followed her ways for hundreds of years."

"She was an Avatar?" Sokka questioned, a little surprised.

"Yep. She was from the Earth Kingdom." Suki smiled at him as they entered the market place. "Here are all our shops, where you can stock up for your journey." 

Sokka thanked her, a little disappointed he didn't get the exact information he wanted, and made his way over to a nearby cart. He pretended to study the fruit that was for sale while watching Suki out of the corner of his eye, waiting for her to go away. 

She surprisingly stuck around, seemingly intent on make sure he had everything he needed. If only people in the Fire Nation were this nice. The thought made him feel slightly lonely, a longing feeling settling in his chest. 

Sokka needed a distraction. He didn't want to think about Zuko at a time like this. 

Looking down, he suddenly got an idea. Sokka discretely bent over, and packed a snowball together. When Suki was distracted by some children nearby giggling he flung it at her, hitting her right in the shoulder. 

She gasped in surprise, staring at him with wide eyes. For a split second, he expected her to get angry, like Zuko would, but instead she started laughing.

"Oh! You think you can throw snow at me and just get away with it?" Suki threatened, making Sokka question the sanity of his plan.

She bent down and scooped some up herself, grinning at Sokka. "You better start running!"

Sokka exclaimed loudly as a snowball went flying over his head. He quickly ran away from her, laughing as a few more flew past him. 

The weight that always seemed to sit on his shoulders was suddenly gone, if only for a short moment. It had been such a long time since Sokka felt this free, since he actually felt like the kid he was supposed to be.

One of Suki's attacks smashed into the back of his legs, taking him to the ground. Sokka quickly glanced around, spotting a nearby snow bank. He scrambled behind it and began to make his own snowballs to fight back. 

Once Suki came into view, he threw one at her. It hit her square in the chest.

"That one was a freebie! I let you hit me!" She yelled, her smile evident in her tone. 

Sokka couldn't help but chuckle, standing up to face her. "Yea, right! Just admit it! I got you!"

Suki looked his direction, then suddenly began to run at him. Sokka didn't have any time to get out of the way, before she was tackling him back into the snow. They collapsed in a pile of giggles, snow caked all over their bodies. 

Suki spit out some snow that had gotten in her mouth and grinned. "I win."

"Yea, by cheating!" Sokka accused jokingly, standing up and brushing off his clothes. He offered a hand to Suki, and pulled her up when she grabbed it. 

"Thanks." She said, before noticing something behind him. "There's some of my other friends!"

Sokka turned, trying to see the people she was talking about. He stiffened once he realized who it was. 

"Hey Aang! Katara! Over here!" Suki called, waving her hand at them. 

"You don't have to disturb them!" Sokka said quickly, his panic rising. 

Suki just smiled at him, grabbing his wrist to pull him towards the two. "It's no trouble! I really want them to meet you." 

Sokka looked down, trying to keep his face hidden as long as he could.

Aang's face lit up as they approached, a huge grin on his face. "Hey Suki!"

Katara rolled her eyes at Aang, before turning to the newcomers. "Who's this?" She asked in interest.

"This is Lee! We just met, he's a traveler passing through town." Suki explained, pushing Sokka towards them. 

Sokka took a deep breath and looked up at them, a nervous smile on his face. "Uh, hi?"

His heart dropped as their faces shifted from friendly and welcoming to horror. 

"You!" Katara yelled, pointing at him. "Suki, get away from him!"

"What, why?" She asked in confusion, side eyeing Sokka suspiciously. 

"He's with the Fire Nation!" Katara explained, clenching her fists. 

"Yea!" Aang confirmed, adopting a fighting position. "If he's here, then that means Zuko must be close by!" 

Suki turned to Sokka with a furious expression that stopped him dead in his tracks. 

"You're a Fire Nation spy?" She asked darkly, taking out her twin fans. "You lied to me. Is Lee even your real name?"

Sokka scrambled away from them, drawing his sword. "All of you stay back!" He commanded, trying to ignore the deep hurt threatening to take over his chest. 

"We should capture him!" Katara suggested, making Sokka's eyes widen. "Then we can find out what Zuko's plans are!"

Everyone was still for a split second, before all spurring into action. 

Sokka swung at Suki, crying out in surprise as she moved and threw him off balance. He tried to bring his sword up in time to block Aang's follow up attack, but it did nothing against the wind pushing him to the ground. 

Suki was quickly on him, taking his sword and securing his wrists behind his back with a length of ribbon. Sokka wiggled his arms a little, disappointed to find that she was good at tying knots. She hauled Sokka to his feet, not even sparing him a single glance as she led him back into town. 

Many people came out of their houses to see what was going on, their whispers the only thing Sokka could hear.

Suki lead them to a building near the center of town, and stepped inside. The interior was set up as a training room, which lead Sokka to guess that he'd just been brought to the Kyoshi Warrior's home base. 

Suki roughly shoved Sokka towards one of the walls. 

"Sit." She commanded. He quickly complied. "I don't know too much about what's going on, so he's all yours Aang."

Sokka glanced over at Aang, surprised to see a slightly guilty look on his face. 

"I'm sorry about knocking you down with my airbending." He apologized, surprising Sokka.

"Aang!" Katara cried. "That's not what Suki meant!" She turned to face Sokka, taking an angry step towards him. "Where's Zuko?"

Sokka snorted, trying to hide his slight fear. "You really think I'm just going to tell you everything? I highly doubt that any of you are going to torture me for the information you want, if airhead over there would even let you."

"Hey!" Aang exclaimed, a slightly hurt look on his face, like he wasn't expecting Sokka to be mean to him.

Katara seemed to be getting really annoyed with him. "Look-"

Suddenly, a loud boom shook the earth, accompanied by the scream of the townspeople. Aang gasped and rushed over to the door. He stuck his head out, then pulled it back in, panicked. "It's the Fire Nation! They're here!"

Suki looked alarmed as well. "Katara, can you please watch him? I need to go protect my village-!"

Katara nodded instantly. "Of course! Go!"

Suki shot her a grateful smile, and dashed out of the building with Aang.

Katara watched them go, then turned back to Sokka. "What's going on!?" She demanded, hands on her hips. 

"No need for attitude." Sokka replied nonchalantly, enjoying riling her up. It was almost like he was back in the Fire Nation, teasing a young Azula. Ah, the good old days, when he wasn't deathly afraid of her.

"Hey!" Katara yelled to get his attention. "Don't you ignore me!" 

"You really think I know what the hell Zuko's doing?" He snapped, the words coming out more harshly than he would have liked. 

Katara raises her eyebrows at his tone. "What do you me-"

Another sound, this time an explosion, cut her off. Sokka smirked at the surprised look on her face. 

"Sorry to break it to you, but that's the sound of several angry firebenders." He said in a smug tone. "You might wanna go check on that." 

Katara growled at him. "I'm not falling for any of your Fire Nation tricks! I'm staying here to watch you."

"Where is he!?" An instantly recognizable voice snarled faintly from outside. 

Katara's head snapped towards the sound, giving Sokka the opportunity he needed. He pushed himself off the wall, throwing all of his weight into Katara. 

She cried out in surprise, as they hit the ground. Sokka quickly clamored to his feet and ran for the door. Thankfully, the idiots hadn't bothered to tie up his legs. 

Once Sokka was outside, he got to see just how much damage was really being done. Several houses were on fire, the blaze threatening to spread to nearby buildings. Fire Nation soldiers sat atop the war rhinos, shooting flames at the fleeing townsfolk. 

And in the center of it all was Zuko, fighting Aang and Suki. 

The prince had easily taken care of Suki with his fire bending, knocking the fans out of her grip. However, he was so focused on her, that he didn't see Aang dive for the fans and raise them in preparation to strike.

Sokka moved without thinking, slamming into Aang's side just as he attacked. The violent wind crashed into the side of the house Zuko was standing next to, smashing clean through it. 

Sokka didn't want to think about what that would have done to a human body. 

"Aang! Up here!" Katara called, catching the Avatar's attention. She had gone and found their flying bison, and was now hovering above the town on its back.

Aang started to protest. "But Kyoshi-!"

"We'll be find!" Suki exclaimed. "You need to get out of here!" 

Aang looked around at the town sadly, before airbending his way onto the bison's back. Once again, the Avatar escaped them, flying off into the distance. 

Sokka heard Zuko give an angry shout, most likely because of the loss of the Avatar. He turned just in time to see Suki lunge at him. He tensed for the oncoming attack, but it never came. 

Zuko had stopped Suki, launching her back into a nearby building with a burst of fire. She hit the wall of it with a loud thud, and slumped over onto the ground.

Sokka didn't even have the chance to be concerned for her, before Zuko was already yelling at him. 

"Of all the stupid, idiotic things you could have done! You just had to go after the Avatar all on your own just to show me up!" The prince exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You're supposed to be the cautious one! The one that has a plan and doesn't go running off into danger recklessly!"

Sokka scoffed and sneered at him. "Oh, so only you're allowed to do that?"

Zuko growled in frustration. "That's not-! I didn't mean it like that!" 

"Well, what did you mean?" Sokka asked, crossing his arms.

"You could have gotten yourself captured or killed and I-" Zuko cut himself off, his voice cracking. 

Sokka felt his anger fading. He took a few hesitant steps towards him.

"I need you, Sokka." Zuko admitted stiffly, looking away. "I promise to not say anymore lies about you."

Sokka couldn't stop the small smile that appeared on his face. He wanted to still be angry with him, to hold a grudge, but he just couldn't. Zuko's apology may not had seemed like a lot to a normal person, but to Sokka it was everything. 

He ran over to the prince and threw his arms around him. Zuko instinctively stiffened in his grasp, and Sokka could feel the confusion rolling off of him.

"You..?" Zuko trailed off, like he was afraid to ask the question on his mind. 

"I forgive you." Sokka answered simply, pulling back to smile at him. "However, if you ever pull that shit with me again, I'll throw you off the side of the ship." He threatened. 

"That's... fair." Zuko muttered quietly, taking a step back.

All of a sudden, rain came pouring down from the sky, putting out all the fires around the town. Sokka gasped as he was suddenly drenched, quickly looking over at Zuko. 

The prince had been soaked as well, a large, almost comical frown on his face. 

Sokka looked up at the sky and started to laugh. He grabbed Zuko's wrist and pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Kyoshi Warriors comes after we first meet Zhao but I had to switch them... for plot reasons...


	5. Chapter 5

Of all the places they could've stopped, it just had to be Captain Zhao's harbor. 

Sokka totally understood why they had to stop. Some of the war rhinos had become injured from the assault on Kyoshi Island. They knew that keeping them aboard the ship would only cause more damage. Sokka would much rather try to help the remaining rhinos than leave them to die, but there had to be a different place they could do so.

To put it bluntly, Captain Zhao was the absolute worst. He always insulted Sokka and made sure he 'knew his place'. He was never allowed into any meetings that the captain was in, even though he was the prince's right hand. It frustrated Sokka to no end. 

However, the thing that annoyed him the most, was how Zhao treated Zuko. He always made tiny, passive aggressive comments Zuko's direction. 

Even if all he had was his sword up against Zhao's firebending, Sokka wouldn't hesitate to fight him if need be.

"Did we really have to stop here, instead of literally anywhere else?" Sokka complained to Zuko with a pout as they stood on the dock, watching over the soldiers unloading the rhinos. "Zhao sucks ass!"

Zuko shoved his hand over the other boy's mouth. "Shut up! You don't want any of his men hearing you." He hissed. "And no mentioning the Avatar either! If anyone else knows that he's alive, every firebender will go after him! I don't want them getting in my way."

Sokka pulled his hand off with an over dramatic groan. "Fine, but that doesn't mean I won't find other ways to complain about the situation."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Zuko replied grumpily, crossing his arms.

Sokka just laughed, elbowing him playfully.

"There you two are." came Iroh's voice from behind them. "Look who I ran into."

Zuko and Sokka turned around, the light, fun atmosphere around them disappearing almost immediately.

Captain Zhao stood next to Iroh. He had a sparkle in his eyes that Sokka didn't like one bit. 

"Ah, the banished prince and his little pet. I ran into General Iroh here, and wanted to come greet you myself." Zhao said, folding his arms behind his back. 

"Captain Zhao." Zuko addressed him stiffly with the nod of his head.

The corner of Zhao's mouth quirked up. "Actually, it's commander now."

Sokka had to fight the urge to roll his eyes, clenching his fists at his side. 

"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests to my harbor, anytime." Zhao continued, side eyeing Sokka to make sure he knew he wasn't included in his statement. "What brings you here?"

"A few of our war rhinos have been injured." Iroh explained, gesturing to the few nearby. "Prince Zuko decided it would be better to drop them off here, than try to care for them on the ship."

Zhao's gaze followed Iroh's hand, his eyes sliding over the hurt rhinos.

"That's quite a bit of damage." He commented. 

Zuko nodded. "Yes! You wouldn't believe what happened." 

The prince paused and looked away, apparently trying to come up with a lie. Sokka kinda wanted to smack him. He swore Zuko didn't have any brain cells 95% of the time.

"...Sokka! Tell Zhao how the rhinos were injured."

Sokka sent Zuko a quick 'I'll murder you later' look, and turned to face Zhao. The commander was looking down at him, clearly amused. It made Sokka want to punch him. 

"We stopped in a village to gather some supplies." Sokka explained, coming up with a story on the fly. "It was not under Fire Nation jurisdiction, and people there didn't take very kindly to us."

"Really?" Zhao asked, clearly faking his disbelief. He turned to Zuko. "You must regale me with all the thrilling details of this fight. Won't you and General Iroh join me for a drink?"

"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko replied quickly, moving to walking off. A hand landed on his shoulder, preventing their escape.

"Prince Zuko, show Zhao your respect." Iroh lightly insisted, ignoring the frown on his nephew's face. He turned to Zhao and bowed slightly. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."

Sokka had to suppress a groan as Iroh and Zhao began to walk off. They were so close to getting away and being free of Zhao! What was Uncle thinking?

Zuko growled in frustration, clenching his fists in front of him. He exchanged an annoyed glance with Sokka. Apparently, the prince was thinking the exact same thing he was. 

The two of them reluctantly followed after the commander and Iroh. Zhao led them to a nearby tent, waving a hand at the soldier guarding the flap to open it. When the man did, Zhao stepped aside and motioned for them to enter. 

Iroh and Zuko both went in without trouble, but when Sokka tried to follow, the guard blocked his path. 

"Sorry," Zhao smiled down at him unnervingly. "no pets allowed, I'm afraid." 

Sokka didn't have anytime to get mad, before Zuko appeared in the opening of the tent with a scowl on his face. 

"Sokka's coming in." He stated absolutely, getting Zhao's attention.

The smile dropped from the commander's face. "I know you get lonely without without your little-"

"He comes in." Zuko repeated firmly, interrupting him.

He grabbed Sokka's arm and pulled him into the tent, keeping eye contact with the commander the whole time. Sokka was very tempted to laugh at the constipated look on Zhao's face and stick his tongue out at him. 

Zhao quickly regained his composure and pointed them to some chairs near the center of the room. "Please sit. I'll have refreshments brought in just a moment."

Sokka was not surprised in the slightest to only see two chairs. Iroh sat in one, while Zuko took the other. Sokka chose to stand to the side of the prince, not wanting to give Zhao the satisfaction of making him sit on the ground. 

True to his word, however, drinks were brought out almost immediately. Zhao began some long winded speech about the glory of the Fire Nation, one that Sokka was pretty sure none of them were listening to.

Iroh took great delight in the cup of tea they gave him, taking a small sip from it with a satisfied hum. Sokka was glad that at least one of them was getting something good out of this.

Zuko just rolled his eyes at his uncle's antics. 

The servant then came over to the prince to offer him a cup. Surprisingly, Zuko accepted it, despite his many claims upon not liking the drink.

Sokka wasn't shocked when the servant ignored him, leaving the tenet without even looking at him. He knew Zhao wouldn't want to serve him, so it didn't bother him too much. He instead waited until the commander turned around to pointed at the map behind him, no longer facing their direction.

Sokka took the opportunity to nudge Zuko discreetly. When the prince glanced at him, Sokka gave a pointed look to the tea in his hand to silently ask why he'd taken it. 

Once Zuko noticed what Sokka was trying to say, he quickly looked away from the other with a scowl. Sokka frowned in confusion, about to poke him again, when the prince held the tea out to him wordlessly.

Sokka couldn't stop his face from breaking out in a smile as he took the cup from Zuko. 

"Is something amusing to you?" Zhao's cold voice cut through the air, interrupting the moment.

Sokka quickly shook his head, trying not to show the annoyance he was feeling on his face. "No, sir."

Zhao tsked. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised anyhow. You savages always have the smallest attention spans." He said off handedly.

Sokka grit his teeth, too angry to notice Zuko stiffen next to him. 

"As I was saying," Zhao continued with a smug smile. "by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."

Zuko scoffed harshly. "If my father thinks that the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool."

"Your years at sea have done little to cool that temper of yours." Zhao said in amusement, stepping closer to Zuko. "Now, how about you tell me how your search for the Avatar is going?" 

Zuko's mouth pressed into a thin line, his hands gripping the arms of his chair. "We haven't found him yet."

The commander chuckled darkly. "Of course you haven't. Did you really expect to? The Avatar died hundreds of years ago with the rest of the airbenders."

Zuko looked away, causing Zhao to smile.

"Unless, you've found some evidence that the Avatar is alive?" He pressed, his eyes flickering back and forth between Zuko and Sokka to gauge their reactions. 

"We've found nothing." Zuko replied firmly, looking Zhao right in the eye. 

"Prince Zuko," The commander took a step forward and bent down right in front him. "if you have even an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found."

Sokka was frozen in anger, only able to helplessly watch as Zhao interrogated Zuko. He so badly wanted to stand up for the two of them, but that's not how it worked in the Fire Nation. Any move he made against Zhao would spell doom for them all.

Because of this, Sokka stayed silent.

"I haven't found anything." Zuko answered in an even tone. "It's like you said, the Avatar probably died a long time ago."

He then stood, motioning for Iroh to do so as well. "Come on Uncle, Sokka. They must be finished with the rhinos by now." Zuko fixed Zhao with a sharp look. "We're leaving."

Sokka could have cried tears of joy. The three of them made their way towards the opening of the tent, only to be stopped by the soldier outside.

Zuko turned back to Zhao with fire in his eyes. 

"What is the meaning of this!" He demanded.

"Sir, the others interrogated the crew, just as you instructed." The soldier announced, directing his words at the commander. "They confirmed that the prince had the Avatar in his grasp not only once, but twice, and let him get away."

Sokka clenches his fists as Zhao approached them, an extremely smug look on his face. "So, do you still want to tell me the story of how your rhinos became injured?"

Zuko growled, turning to face him. "Back off, Zhao."

"I could arrest you for treason over this, you know." Zhao commented lightly. "However, I pity you. It's honestly... pathetic. You and an entire ship of firebenders can't capture one twelve year old boy."

"I won't underestimate him again-!"

"That's right." Zhao interrupted, leaving Zuko shocked. "You won't get another chance to."

"I've been hunting the Avatar for years!" The prince protested angrily, pointing at Zhao. "You can't just-!"

"Enough!" Zhao yelled, sending a wave of flame over their heads. 

Sokka took a step closer to Zuko, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword in case he needed to be ready to fight. 

"Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in the hands of a failure like you." Zhao continued, placing his hands behind his back. "He's mine now."

Zuko suddenly cried out in rage, lunging towards the commander. The door guard grabbed his arms, holding him back. 

"Let him go!" Sokka growled, drawing his sword towards the soldier. 

"Now, now!" Iroh interjected quickly, trying to keep the peace. "Let's all take a deep breath and relax-"

"I agree." Zhao said, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "You should take a break. Give it up, Prince Zuko, you can't compete with me. I have hundreds of war ships under my command and you? You're just a banished prince, one who has nothing more than a handful of men, a disobedient savage, and a washed up old man. You have no home, no strong allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."

Zuko stiffened at the mention of the Fire Lord. "You're wrong! Once I capture the Avatar, my father will restore my honor and welcome me home with open arms!"

Zhao just laughed at him. "If your father really wanted you, he would have let you return by now. To him, you are a failure and a disgrace to the entire Fire Nation."

"That's not true!" Zuko shouted, his eyes burning with rage.

"You're have the scar to prove it." Zhao stated, his gaze fixed to the mangled side of the prince's face. 

"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko growled at him, making Sokka freeze in terror. 

"Is that a challenge?" Zhao demanded, stepping closer to him.

Sokka stared at Zuko in wild panic, willing the prince to keep his mouth shut for once in his life.

'Please no,' He thought desperately. 'Not like this-!'

Zuko looked directly into the commanders eyes, unafraid. "An Agni Kai, at sunset."

Sokka could feel his soul leave his body.

Zhao took a step back, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "Very well. I look forward to it."


	6. Chapter 6

"What were you thinking!?" Sokka exclaimed as the two boys entered the spare tent Zhao had given Zuko to prepare in. "You've done so many irresponsible things in your sixteen years on this earth, but this one really takes the cake."

The prince turned toward him, a determined look on his face. "I'm not afraid of him."

"That's not the point!" Sokka groaned loudly, throwing his hands up. "You need to learn to think before you speak! Almost every situation we've been in recently is because of you opening your big, fat mouth!" 

The prince frowned at the other boy, crossing his arms. "I am better than Zhao. I know that I am going to defeat him, but it sounds like you think I don't even stand a chance." Zuko stated, narrowing his eyes at Sokka. "Why are you so against this?"

Sokka laughed in shock, disbelieving that Zuko had just asked him what he did. "You don't know why I'm against this!? You really don't have any single idea-!?" 

The tent flap suddenly opened, making Sokka stop mid sentence. Iroh stood in the opening, looking between the two of them with a raised eyebrow.

"What's going on here?" He questioned, before turning to his nephew. "Prince Zuko, you should really be preparing, not yelling at Sokka."

"It wasn't me this time!" Zuko quickly protested, holding his hands up in a placating manner.

Iroh looked to Sokka, pointing at him. "You started it?" He asked in surprise.

Sokka, having cooled off a little bit, made eye contact with him and nodded sheepishly.

"Don't make me kick you out of this tent." Iroh scolded lightly, before focusing back on Zuko. 

He began to explain strategies to the prince, repeatedly mentioning to stick to the basics. Sokka found his mind wandering as the two talked, his hand starting to unconsciously tap against his leg. 

He really hoped that Zuko could pull this off. It wasn't that he doubted his friend's abilities, he just...

Sokka squeezes his eyes shut, his chest suddenly clenching. He placed a hand over his heart and looked away from the others, trying to ignore the weird, familiar pain. 

"Are you alright?" Iroh's voice came, drawing his attention. 

Sokka turned to see the two firebenders looking at him. Worry shone in Iroh's eyes, while Zuko's straight face didn't display any hint of what he was feeling. 

Sokka waved a hand dismissively at them. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Go back to your planning, that's more important right now."

Zuko frowned slightly. "I thought you said this whole thing was stupid-"

"It is." Sokka confirmed, interrupting him. "You are a certified idiot for getting yourself in this terrible situation. However, what's done is done, and now we can only focus on getting you through the Agni Kai." 

Iroh nodded. a smile appearing on his face. "Well put, Sokka."

"Thanks, Uncle." Sokka replied, faking a grin back at him. The pain had gotten worse. 

"Alright Prince Zuko, lets get back to it.."

Sokka took that moment to slip discreetly out of the tent. His chest felt a little lighter now that he could no longer see him, but that same feeling from all those years ago still held his heart hostage.

———

The room was unsettlingly quiet.

All Sokka could hear was the slow inhale and exhale of his own breath. 

It reminded him of a graveyard, one living person among the rows of the dead. Those that slept made no noise, the silent stayed dead in their graves. 

Sokka quickly closed his eyes, tightening his grip on Zuko's hand to ground himself. The prince's skin was cool to the touch, but there was still a faint warmth underneath. 

'He's alive. He's alive." Sokka repeatedly thought over and over in his head. He tried to exclusively focus on that fact, doing his best to blink back the wetness in his eyes.

Sokka eventually looked up after he'd managed to calm down a little, his breath back to its original, stable pace. His gaze returned to the still form of his injured friend. 

Zuko made no movement, except for the steady rise and fall of his chest. The entire left side of his face was wrapped in bandages, hiding the marred, disfigured skin underneath. 

It hurt Sokka in a way he'd never felt before to see his friend like this. His chest was weighed down by the constant fear and worry that he wouldn't wake up again. 

Sokka didn't know what he'd do if Zuko didn't come back to him. 

The door to the room creaked open behind him, making him stiffen.

"I don't care who you are." Sokka threatened, his voice deathly serious. "Get out now."

"Oh, Sokka." A familiar voice said softly, making the boy pause.

"Uncle?" Sokka questioned, the fight draining out of him. He turned around to look at the older man, still holding tightly onto Zuko's hand. 

Iroh nodded slowly, walking up next to him. He placed a comforting hand on Sokka's back, his eyes trailing over the body of his nephew. His gaze held an intense sadness in it. 

Sokka clenched his open fist, his eyes beginning to water once more.

"I hate him!" The boy hissed, pounding his hand on the edge of Zuko's bed. "I hate this entire place!" 

Iroh said nothing, only moving to rub Sokka's back gently. The boy silently began to cry, pressing the back of Zuko's hand against his forehead. 

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the only noise between them a couple quiet sobs and sniffles.

Iroh eventually removed his hand, making Sokka look up at him. 

"I came here to tell you that the Fire Lord has banished Prince Zuko." The older man said, his voice solum. "He will only be able to return once he's captured the Avatar."

Sokka's eyes widened. "The Avatar!?" He croaked in disbelief.

Iroh only nodded in return.

"But that's not fair! How could he do something like that?! How could he do that to his own son!?" Sokka exclaimed in anger, his voice cracking. He was unable to fathom the reasons behind the Fire Lord's decree.

Iroh bowed his head. "My brother is a very proud man. He does not want to be associated with anything he perceives as weak." 

Sokka growled, slamming his hand down on his thigh. "Zuko is not weak! He's one of the only decent people in this place! Without him, there's no reason to be here, no reason to serve the Fire Nation!"

"Then go with him." Iroh stated simply, meeting Sokka's intense gaze. "Go with my nephew, to help him hunt for the Avatar."

"But it's pointless." Sokka responded sadly, his shoulders sagging as his gaze fell to the floor. "Zuko will want to return home, but we'll never be able to find it. He'll be miserable... and I can't stand to see him like that."

Iroh's hand landed on his shoulder. "You may never find the Avatar, but at least my nephew will have a friend. One who watches over him, keeps him safe and truly cares about him. Zuko may never be able to return to the Fire Nation, but he'll still have his real family by his side." 

Sokka nodded firmly, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He turned back to face Zuko. 

"I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going with you." Sokka told him, gently squeezing his hand. “I'm going to help you find the Avatar, ok? We're going to do it, together. I promise I'll never leave your side, no matter what.”

———

Sokka never thought he'd have to see one of these arenas again. 

He stood in silence next to Iroh, his fingers rapidly tapping against his leg. The older man gave Zuko, who was crouched in front of them, a few last minute reminders. The prince listened intently, a determined look on his face. 

Sokka nervously glanced to the other side of the arena, where Zhao and his guards were. The commander was bent over in a pose that mirrored Zuko's, waiting for the Agni Kai to begin.

"Sokka." Zuko said firmly, getting his attention. Their eyes met. "I refuse to let him win."

The prince stood and turned to faced Zhao with confidence. The cloth that laid across his shoulders fluttered to the ground.

The commander did the same, a smug smile visible his face. "This will be over quickly."

The gong in the center of the arena sounded, and the two opponents took up their fighting stances. A single, tense moment passed, where neither moved, before Zuko made the first strike. 

He yelled in anger, sending a fireball towards Zhao. The commander easily sidestepped it, making Zuko even more furious. The prince sent out blast after blast, all of which Zhao avoided.

The older man laughed as Zuko paused to catch his breath. "Tired already?"

Zuko cried out with rage, beginning to attack even more fiercely than before. He was relentless, but so was Zhao. The commander dispelled all the fire shot towards him with a devious grin on his face. 

Sokka lost sight of the two many times as they continued to clash, their flames twisting around in the air and blocking his view. 

"Basics, Zuko!" Iroh called from beside him. "Break his root!"

Zhao laughed. "If you think that's all it will take to defeat me, then you are wrong!" He yelled, suddenly amping up the brutality of his fire blasts. 

Zuko had no time to strike back in between them. With every attack he was forced to defend against, he was driven backwards a little more. It eventually became too much and the prince went flying. He grunted in pain as his back slammed against the ground. 

Instantly, Zhao was standing over him. Sokka was frozen by the look of terror on Zuko's face. The commander smiled in victory and raised his fist to land the final blow. 

Sokka quickly turned away as Zuko cried out, wrapping his arms around his own body. He could feel himself start to spiral, before someone was tugging at his sleeve. 

"Sokka, look!" Iroh yelled, encouraging the boy to turn his gaze back to the fight. 

Somehow, Zuko had managed to turn the tables. He was now the one standing over Zhao, a smug look on his face. The commander was furious, his mouth pulled back in a sneer. 

Zuko raised his fist to end their battle, but seemed to hesitate. 

"Do it!" Zhao yelled at him.

Zuko growled loudly, and made the final strike.

The ground beside Zhao's head began to smolder, charred black by the prince's fire.

"That's it?" The commander demanded in disbelief. "Your father really did raise a coward."

Zuko scowled down at him. "Next time you get in my way, I promise you, I won't hold back."

He turned away from Zhao and began to walk towards them. Sokka, so full of relief and pride for his friend, began to run to meet him. 

However, his attention was caught by Zhao slowly standing up in the distance. Time slowed as he began to draw back, readying himself to attack Zuko while his back was turned. 

"No!" Sokka yelled, reaching his hand out towards the prince. 

Zhao fired, but his foot was caught by a very angry Iroh. The flames melted away into the air. 

Zuko quickly turned back, his eyes going wide as he saw his uncle throw Zhao back onto the ground. He growled and began to charge the commander, only stopped by Iroh holding him back. 

"No, Prince Zuko!" The older man said sternly. "Do not taint your victory!"

Zuko glanced between him and Zhao, the fight seemingly leaving his body. Sokka came up behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. When the prince looked at him, he pulled him in for a hug. 

Iroh smiled softly at the two boys, before turning to Zhao with disgust. "So, this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat?" He shook his head. "Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you."

Iroh eyes suddenly glinted mischievously. "I must say thank you, however, for the tea. It was most delicious. Come along now, boys."

The three of them turned and walked out of the arena silently, leaving Zhao behind. Sokka stayed as close to Zuko as he could, still a little shaken by what had happened. 

"Uncle," Zuko started as they neared their ship. "did you really mean what you said?"

"Of course!" Iroh assured him with a cheeky grin. "I told you ginseng tea was always my favorite."


	7. Chapter 7

"So, remind me why this thing is important again?" Sokka asked as he and Zuko walked along the worn, dirt path. He was fiddling with a necklace that held a delicately carved stone on a piece of blue ribbon. 

The two had obtained it from an earthbender prison. Right as they were about to leave Zhao's harbor, Zuko overheard two soldiers reporting that one of their camps had been liberated. The culprits were apparently a girl and a boy with a blue arrow on his forehead. 

As soon as Zuko had heard them, they changed their course and set sail for the location. However, there wasn't anything of use there, only the sniveling warden and his men who knew nothing of the Avatar or where he was heading. 

The only lead they had gotten was the necklace, but calling it that was kind of a stretch. Zuko had been very pleased with his find, meanwhile Sokka had no idea how they were supposed to do anything with it. The most it could probably do was taunt the girl it was taken from. 

Anyway, besides all that, something about the necklace gave Sokka a weird feeling, onc that tickled the back of his mind. It was uncomfortable, an itch he couldn't scratch. 

Zuko shot him a look of annoyance. "I already told you! It's the Water Tribe girl's!"

"Really? No way." Sokka replied sarcastically, his face deadpanned. "It's not like she's worn it every single time we've seen her!"

Zuko scowled at him, continuing his explanation with a little more force. "I figure it must hold some kind of significance for her. The carvings seem to represent something special, maybe something related to her family."

"And so, you took it to bargain with her?" Sokka questioned, glancing down at the intricate designs that ran across the stone's surface. "You really think she's going to give up her friend for some jewelry?"

"Of course not." Zuko responded, rolling his eyes like the answer was obvious. "But it may give us the slight advantage we need to catch the Avatar!"

Sokka shrugged, a slight smile on his face. "Ok Zu, whatever you say."

The prince frowned at him, opening his mouth to most likely scold him for using that nickname, but didn't get the chance. One of the soldiers traveling with them cut him off. 

"Sir?" 

Zuko spun around to face the man. "Why are you interrupting me?" He asked dangerously.

The soldier's face hardened, his eyes clouding over with annoyance. "We've spotted the village where the Avatar was last seen. It's right up ahead."

Sokka shot the man an apologetic smile as Zuko took off faster down the path. He started after the prince, having to almost sprint to catch up with him. 

Sokka finally caught up to Zuko, after the other had stopped dead in his tracks. He slowed down once he saw what Zuko was looking at.

The village they had been searching for stood directly in front of them. Most, if not all of the homes were damaged in some way. A few had caved in roofs or holes in the walls, and others were just piles of rubble. It seemed like the kind of carnage that the Fire Nation would have left behind. The only thing missing were the scorch marks. 

Zuko, despite his initial shock, didn't seem too fazed by the destruction. Unsurprisingly, he charged directly into the town, not even once considering that what caused this could still be there. The prince was only concerned with his singular objective. His eyes scanned the area, looking for some poor soul to interrogate. 

A door opened to their left, drawing everyone's attention. A man stepped out of one of the few mostly intact houses, unaware of the gathering just outside. He froze as soon as he saw them, and immediately hid back inside his house. 

Zuko growled and made his way towards the door. He pounded harshly on the wooden surface a few times with his fist. 

"Open up!" He demanded loudly. "Come out or I'll force my way inside!"

Sokka didn't like the intense, blazing look in his friend's eyes. It was beginning to happen more and more often. He could barely stand to look at him when he was like that, not recognizing the kind boy he'd grown up with. 

The man finally opened his door after a few more threats, a terrified look on his face. Zuko immediately grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him closer. 

"Where is the Avatar heading?" He hissed.

The man looked anywhere, but directly at Zuko. "H-He didn't say! I.. I promise you!"

The prince slammed the man against the wall of his house. "You're lying! Do you know what I do to liars!?"

The man was clearly frightened, but not persuaded by threats of bodily harm. Sokka felt the tiniest bit of guilt worm it's way into his chest at the thought of Zuko actually harming him. He was getting dangerously close to doing so. 

Despite all of the prince's fury, it didn't seem like the man was going to give up anything he knew anytime soon. So, in order to prevent Zuko from doing something he might regret, Sokka called forth his Fire Nation training. 

"Hey, look over here." He ordered, getting the attention of not only the man, but his interrogator as he stepped forward. "As it has been made clear by now, my friend will not hesitate to harm you. I get that you guys are all about protecting the Avatar because he probably saved your village or whatever. And you know, good for him."

Sokka paused and linked his hands behind his back, slowing walking around to Zuko's other side. "Too bad he's not here now. No one is here to stop us from burning down this entire place." 

The man's eyes widened in fear.

"I know you've got people hiding in these buildings." Sokka leaned in close to him. "So, you're going to tell us where the Avatar went, or we'll make sure that no one ever knows there was a village here to begin with." 

The man's eyes flickered between the different houses around them, before locking back onto Zuko. 

"They went to the fire temple!" He finally admitted, clearly torn. "They went to one in the Fire Nation, the one that belonged to the previous Avatar!" 

Zuko smiled in victory and threw the man to the ground. 

"You heard him!" He yelled at the soldiers. "It's back to the ship! Move out!"

When the prince went to walk past Sokka, he laid a hand on his shoulder in congratulations for a job well done. The gesture was nice, since it was such a rare occurrence from the other boy, but it did nothing to get rid of the slimy feeling inside of him. 

Sokka hated having to act like all the people who had tormented him in his lifetime. 

'It's for Zuko.' He chanted in his head, turning to follow after the prince. 'It's for Zuko.'

———

"Sailing into Fire Nation waters...." Iroh muttered in disappointment as he looked out over the vast ocean surrounding them. "Of all the foolish things you've done in your life, Prince Zuko, this is the worst."

"Relax, Uncle." Sokka reassured him, trying not to show his own nerves. "Zuko and I have looked over the maps. Avatar Roku's temple is in the very outskirts of Fire Nation territory. The two of us should be able to slip in without being detected, no problem." 

Iroh nodded sadly. "I trust your judgment, Sokka. I just hope that for both of your sakes, you are not wrong." 

"We'll be fine." Zuko grunted dismissively from few feet away. His eyes were glued to the sky in search of the Avatar's flying bison.

Iroh only sighed and looked away. Sokka knew how worried he must be about the two of them, about what the Fire Nation would do to Zuko if he was caught violating his banishment. 

Sokka was too, but he was sure this plan would work. He'd gone over the map a countless amount of times, making sure that everything would perfectly work out. As long as the Avatar himself didn't alert the Fire Nation that they were there, it would go smooth. 

"Besides," Zuko continued, still searching. "Even if we are caught, I'm chasing the Avatar! My father will understand why I came home."

Sokka had to stop himself from scoffing out loud.

"You give him too much credit" Iroh replied, crossing his arms. "My brother is not the understanding type."

Sokka clenched his fists and looked away. 'That's an understatement.' He thought bitterly.

"There they are!" Zuko called out, pointing up into the distance. Sokka raised his head, just about able to make out a small dot on the horizon. 

"Helmsman, full steam ahead!" Zuko commanded loudly, not taking his eyes away from his prey. "Raise the catapult!"

Sokka quickly jumped back as the deck of the ship slid open. The catapult rose to the surface, soldiers instantly swarming it to prep for launch. Zuko ran up to it, lighting the ammo with a single punch. 

Sokka came up behind him, gagging as an intense, putrid smell hit his nose. "Ugh! I forgot how much this thing stinks!" 

The prince ignored him. "Fire!"

The flaming ball shot into the sky, heading directly for the flying bison. It managed to swerve out of the way just in time, making Zuko growl in frustration.

"Load up another!" The prince shouted, only to be stopped by Sokka's hand across his chest.

"No, wait!" He cried, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. "Don't fire again! There's-!"

"A blockade." Zuko finished in surprise, his eyes widening as he spotted the line of ships. The Avatar was heading straight for it.

Sokka immediately turned to the prince, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Don't you dare even think about it! We're technically still in Earth Kingdom waters! If we turn back now, you won't be arrested!"

"The Avatar is not turning around!" Zuko protested, shoving his hands away.

"He doesn't matter right now!" Sokka shouted back, clenching his fists. "If they capture you, there's nothing we can do about it! They'll lock you in some secret Fire Nation prison and leave you to rot, Zuko!Please just listen to me for once in your life! Don't follow the Avatar!" 

Zuko's gaze met Sokka's pleading eyes. The prince's face seemed to soften for a split second, before suddenly hardening.

"Forgive me, Sokka." Zuko muttered, before turning to his crew members. "Run the blockade!"

Sokka cried out in anger, lunging for the prince. He was caught halfway by two soldiers grabbing his arms. 

"Let me go!" Sokka commanded, worry sinking its claws into his heart "Zuko, please!" 

"What should we do with him, sir?" The soldier holding Sokka's right arm asked.

Zuko glanced over at them, not saying a word. 

Sokka met his gaze. "I'm begging you, Zu. The avatar is not more important than your life."

"Take him below deck to cool off." The prince commanded firmly, returning his sights to the sky. "We're continuing forwards."

———

Sokka paced around his room, unable to sit still. His chest hurt, the pain worsening with every explosion that came from outside. There was no doubt that it was the fleet of ships who was firing at them. They would just be listed as collateral damage from the fight with the Avatar. 

Sokka really wanted to be angry with a certain Fire Nation prince. 

But he just... couldn't. 

The anger was still there, of course. It was just overpowered by something stronger, an emotion that Sokka was getting real sick of feeling.

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Iroh open the door and walk in. 

"Let me guess, you're here to give me a pep talk, or some bullshit like that." Sokka grumbled, crossing his arms. "I'm not interested."

Iroh smiled warmly at him. "I just wanted to thank you for looking after Zuko. You can tell him things that I can't."

"Like what I say to him matters." Sokka scoffed, looking away to hide the sadness in his eyes. "I'm tired of him not listening to me. I do so much for him, I try so hard to make him happy, but it feels like... like he doesn't give two shits about me."

"Sokka, I know for a fact that my nephew deeply cares about you." Iroh reassured him gently.

"He sure has a funny way of showing it." Sokka snapped, not much venom behind his words. 

"He sure does." Iroh chuckled slightly. "That's why he sent me down here to check on you."

Sokka frowned slightly. "He should have come down himself."

"While I agree, I followed his request since he is busy dealing with Commander Zhao."

Sokka heart dropped. "Zhao is here!?" He asked quickly. 

Iroh nodded, his face becoming more serious. "Yes. We made it through the blockade, but only because the commander allowed us to. He damaged our ship, plans on following our smoke trail straight to the Avatar."

Sokka growled, clenching one of his fists. He wanted to be angry, but for some reason... he just couldn't bring himself to give up on Zuko, to give up on his one true friend.

"We can use the smoke as a screen to hide our escape." Sokka said suddenly, his mind already starting to work out a plan. "Zuko and I will take the smaller boat and head for the temple. You will stay on the ship, leading Zhao in the wrong direction."

Iroh grinned at him and walked over to the door, holding it open for Sokka. "I'm proud of you, Sokka. Not everyone has the patience to always be there for their friends." 

Sokka paused in the doorway, turning to look at Iroh. "I know what he's been through. If anyone deserves to have a second chance at life, it's Zuko."


	8. Chapter 8

"How come the Avatar gets to fly?" Sokka grumbled to himself as he finally made it up the last step of the excessively long stone staircase. Who's bright idea was it to put the Avatar temple on some mountainous, volcanic island anyway?

Sokka spared a quick glance over at Zuko, who had reached the top a little before him. The prince surveyed the area, not looking tired in the slightest. Sokka didn't know whether to be impressed or jealous.

The tall, crimson temple stood in front of them, its large doors already open. They should have been greeted by the sages that ran the place, but there was no one in sight. 

"The Avatar has already been here." Zuko observed, his eyes scanning the inside of the building. "If we hurry to the top, we might be able to catch him there."

Sokka nodded and followed Zuko into temple. "What do you think the Avatar wanted here?" He wondered out loud as they moved through the empty corridors. 

"It doesn't matter." Zuko growled, clenching his fist. 

Sokka side eyed him, unable to keep a small, amused smile off his face. "Man, you get so overdramatic even from just hearing his name."

"I do not!" Zuko protested as they began up a staircase on the left. "And stop laughing at me! This is serious-!"

Sokka waved his hand dismissively. "Calm down, Zu. I'm just messing with ya."

Zuko frowned and looked away, not replying. Sokka opened his mouth to change the subject, when a loud boom shook the entire temple.

The two boys shared a look of surprise and sprinted up the remaining stairs. 

"Open the doors before he contacts Avatar Roku!" A voice shouted as they reached the top. 

Zuko quickly threw his arm in front of Sokka's chest, stopping him from going any further. He placed a finger over his own mouth, signaling for the other to stay quiet. 

Sokka nodded at him, and the two crept into the upper room.

Five of the fire sages were gathered around a large, ordinate door that must have lead to the inner sanctum. In sync, they all shot fire at it, triggering the unlocking mechanism. 

While Sokka was impressed by the craftsmanship that made up the door, something much more interesting stared them in the face. Right in front of them was the Avatar, hiding behind one of the room's many pillars. He was watching the scene play out, his body tense like he was getting ready to run.

'This kid's actually a genius.' Sokka thought in surprise as he connected all the pieces of the Avatar's plan together in his head. 

The boy had only made it look like he'd gotten the door open. Then, when the sages actually unlocked it, he'd run in. It was honestly really impressive, and definitely would have worked, if only he and Zuko hadn't arrived. 

"We were tricked!" One of the sages cried out as the doors swung open to reveal only a small lemur. "We must-!"

He was cut off by the creature jumping onto his face. It clung tightly to the man as he wiggled around, trying to pry it off. From the back of the room, the Avatar's traveling companion appeared to distract one of the other men. 

"Aang! Go now!" She called out, but it was too late. 

Zuko had already grabbed the Avatar, forcing his hands behind his back. He and Sokka walked out into the open, dragging Aang with them.

"The Avatar's coming with me." Zuko said smugly to the surprised faces of everyone there. 

The single moment of hesitation allowed the fire sages to regain the upper hand. They overpowered the girl and sage that had turned traitor. 

Sokka jogged over to them, grinning smugly as the girl (Katara was it?) glared at him. 

"Oh how the tables have turned." He said in amusement, grabbing her arm. 

"Let me go!" Katara demanded, struggling in his grasp. "I've got water on me right now! I'll freeze you if you don't release us!"

Sokka snorted. "Sorry, but I'm not falling for any of your Water Tribe tricks." He teased, leading her over to one of the pillars.

"Fuck you." Katara spat, making Sokka laugh unexpectedly. 

One of the sages approached him with a length of chain. "We can tie them up with this. 

Sokka nodded, ignoring the rest of Katara's protests and insults. He held her in place as the man began to secure her to the pillar. 

Suddenly, a loud thud came from the corner of the room where Zuko was. Sokka whipped around to find that the Avatar had somehow escaped the prince's grasp and kicked him down the stairs. 

Sokka instantly let go of the girl, sprinting towards Aang as he made for the closing doors of the inner sanctum. He knew he wouldn't reach the air propelled boy in time, so he wound his arm back and threw his sword as hard as he could towards him. 

"Aang!" Katara cried out in fear, strained against her bonds. 

The blade spun towards the Avatar, almost in slow motion. Right as it was about to slice through the edge of his shirt, Aang pushed one final burst of air underneath him. He sailed right through the gap between the doors, and Sokka's sword bounced off them as they slammed shut, clattering to the ground. A blinding light shone from inside the room, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

Katara cheered once it had died down. "He made it!" 

At that moment, Zuko suddenly appeared back at the top of the stairs looking a little worse for wear. He looked around the room wildly. "Where is the Avatar?!"

"In there." Sokka muttered, jerking his thumb towards the closed doors. 

"Get this open, now!" Zuko barked at the remaining sages.

They were quick to follow his command, taking up their positions on either side of the prince. All five of them blasted fire into the unlocking mechanism, just as before, but nothing happened. 

"Why isn't it opening!?" Zuko growled in frustration, his hands beginning to smoke. 

"It must have been that light." One of the sages answered. "Avatar Roku must not want us inside."

Sokka quickly shuffled over next to Zuko and picked up his sword, sheathing it. He then placed a firm hand on the prince's shoulder to try and keep him from exploding in anger. 

"Let us talk to the traitor." He commanded in an attempt to distract Zuko. 

The sages easily complied and lead them over to the man. 

"Why did you help the Avatar?" Zuko questioned harshly, channeling his anger towards the tied up sage. 

"Because it was once our duty, and is still our duty to help him." The man replied honestly, meeting Zuko's gaze with his own fearless one. 

Slow clapping interrupted the moment, everyone's attention drawn towards the sound. Sokka gasped and drew his sword, taking a protective step in front of Zuko once he saw who it was. 

Zhao stood in front of them with a smug look, a mass of soldiers behind him. "What a moving, heartfelt performance. I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him.”

"Commander Zhao." Zuko muttered bitterly.

"Prince Zuko! I'm so surprised to have run into you here." The commander replied with a smirk. "I must say that it was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work." He laughed mockingly. "Two traitors in one day. The Fire Lord will be so pleased. Now, call off your little guard dog and surrender quietly." 

Sokka tensed, preparing himself for a fight, when Zuko's hand landed heavily on his shoulder. He looked back at the other in surprise. 

"Stand down." Zuko said with a grimace, like it physically pained him to utter those words. 

Sokka stared at him for a moment, before sighing quietly and sheathing his sword. Two of the commander's soldiers came up behind them, forcing their arms behind their backs. 

"You're too late anyway, Zhao." Zuko scoffed, looking towards the closed doors. "The Avatar's inside, and the room is sealed shut." 

"That doesn't matter for now." Zhao replied, grinning victoriously. "Sooner or later, he has to come out." 

Sokka scowled as he and Zuko were lead over to two of the other pillars next to Katara. As he was being tied to them with one of the chains he glanced over at her, only to receive a raised eyebrow in response. Sokka stuck his tongue out at her, trying to get rid of some of the frustration he was currently feeling. 

Near the door, Zhao and his soldiers were preparing for the Avatar to exit the inner room. They all took up defensive stances with Zhao in the center, hands folded neatly behind his back. 

"When those doors open, unleash all of your firepower!" He commanded loudly.

Sokka took a deep breath, trying to focus back on the situation at hand and not be distracted again by Katara. He and Zuko were trapped, left to the nonexistent mercy of Zhao, who would undoubtedly return them to the Fire Lord. Sokka was not particularly fond of that scenario, especially the part where Zuko would end up either rotting in prison or dead. 

He desperately tried to come up with a way out of the situation, but came up with nothing. They might have had a slim chance of escape if they'd fought Zhao when he first approached. Sokka didn't understand why Zuko had given up so easily! Normally the prince was the first one to jump into a battle, but now he felt like surrendering? It didn't sit right with Sokka. 

Suddenly, the door began to glow again. Sokka squeezed his eyes shut to avoid going blind, only opening them again when he was sure the light had died down. 

"No! Aang! Don't come out!" Katara cried, attempting to warn him of the awaiting danger.

However, the silhouette that appeared from the darkness of the room was not that of Aang's. In the now open doorway stood an old man in red robes, his eyes glowing unnaturally, just as Aang's had during their first encounter. 

"Avatar Roku!" A sage gasped from somewhere nearby, making Sokka's eyes widen in shock.

"Fire!" Zhao ordered, seemingly not at all fazed by the appearance of a dead man. He and his soldiers all shot at the former Avatar, who managed to stop their fire with just a wave of his hand. The flames gathered in his palms, before flooding back out towards Zhao and his army. They were all thrown back into the wall. 

The fire reached far enough to melt the chains around Katara and Zuko, but not Sokka's. 

The temple around them suddenly began to tremble, explosions sounding deep within the earth. The building began to crack down the center, the walls exploding with lava from the volcano beneath them. 

"Avatar Roku is going to destroy the whole temple!" Someone gasped as people began to scramble to escape the collapsing building. 

Sokka fruitlessly struggled against his chains, trying to free himself from them. He could feel his panic rising.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sokka spotted Katara helping an unconscious Aang out of the temple. He supposed he should be angry that they were getting away, but couldn't bring himself to care.

And then he was suddenly still, like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over his head.

He saw Zuko.

The prince was free, his eyes locked onto the escaping Avatar. He knew this would be the perfect opportunity to grab him. Aang would offer no resistance, and Zuko could easily fend off the girl by himself. 

Sokka laughed humorlessly to himself, letting his gaze fall. 

It was kind of poetic, if you really thought about it. Sokka devoted his entire life to the one person who would eventually leave him to die. 

"Sokka!" 

The boy in question looked up quickly, surprised to see Zuko standing over him. The prince had an unusually nervous look on his face. He used his firebending to melt through the chains that held Sokka to the pillar, freeing him. 

"Come on!" Zuko yelled, taking the other boy's hand in his own. He ran for the stairs, dragging a dazed Sokka behind him. 

The two made it out of the temple just in time to hear it completely collapse behind them. Both were panting heavily. 

Zuko quickly tensed and scanned the area, his shoulders sagging in relief when neither Zhao nor the Avatar was found.

Sokka glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, a burning question resting on his tongue. 

"Why didn't you go after the Avatar?" He asked in confusion, making the other freeze.

Zuko's cheeks colored slightly as he quickly looked away, clenching his fist. "I may be willing to give my life to capture the Avatar, but I will not sacrifice yours."

The prince paused for a moment, clenching his teeth. "You are important to me. I'm sorry for not listening to you more often." He forced out, trying his best to say what he needed to. "I haven't been a good friend to you."

There was a beat of silence, and then Sokka was wrapping Zuko up in a tight hug. He tried to ignore the dampness on his cheeks.

"Finally, you ass." Sokka laughed wetly, burying his face into the prince's shoulder.


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't often that Sokka could say his life was getting better.

From childhood, the whole thing had just been one disaster after another. He'd been taken from his tribe, forced to watch his best friend be burnt alive, and now he had to avoid being killed every five minutes by people who were supposed to be on their side. 

Sokka tried to stay strong despite everything that happened, but recently it had become harder and more tiring to do so.

However, Zuko's apology had felt like a breath of fresh air. Sokka was finally able to recognize his friend for the first time in years.

Long forgotten hopefulness had begun to stir in his chest once again. With it, he could dare to believe in a future where they were happy together.

———

"I win!" Sokka boasted proudly, his sword pointed at Zuko's chest. 

His grin widened as the prince frowned, and he let his sword drop. He sheathed it as Zuko bent over to pick up his own blade that had been flung away in the fight. 

"So, rematch?" Sokka asked excitedly. It had been so long since Zuko had agreed to train with him like this. "The score is only three to two. You do have the potential to catch up if you can somehow manage beat me again. 

Zuko rolled his eyes. "That's enough for today. I still have firebending practice, and we need to keep watch for the Avatar."

Sokka felt disappointed, but could hardly complain. "Alright, I get ya. This was pretty fun, though. Don't hesitate to come spar with me again, alright? I need to kick your ass again."

Zuko nodded in agreement, before suddenly stumbling forward. Sokka had to hold onto a nearby wall to avoid being thrown as well. The entire ship had just made a large, unauthorized turn. They were now off course, heading towards an unknown destination.

The prince growled, storming off towards the bridge. Sokka quickly followed after him, partly out of curiosity, and partly to keep him from frying whoever turned the ship.

When they finally got there, Zuko kicked open the door to find Iroh playing Pai Sho with a few others. 

"What is the meaning of this mutiny!?" Zuko demanded, staring down the helmsman. "No one told you to change course!"

"Actually, someone did." Iroh commented, drawing their attention. "I assure you, it is a matter of upmost importance, Prince Zuko."

Zuko clenched his fist. "Is it something to do with the Avatar!?"

"Even more urgent!" Iroh insisted, before sighing. "It seems I have lost my lotus tile."

Zuko paused, confusion in his eyes. "Lotus tile?" 

"For my Pai Sho game." Iroh clarified. "Most people think the lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy I employ."

"You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile!?" Zuko exclaimed in disbelief, taking a step forward. 

"See, you like most people underestimate its value. Give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this Port of Call. Hopefully, they'll have the tile in stock."

Zuko scowled at him. "Absolutely no-"

"Wait!" Sokka called, cutting him off. He shuffled over to the prince. "We could make this a shopping trip!"

Zuko raised an eyebrow at him. "And why would I want to do that?"

Sokka grinned, really hoping the prince would agree. "It'll be fun, just like the old days!"

Zuko stared at him, his eyes softening for a split second, before turning away. 

"Fine." He agreed stiffly. "I'll walk around the market with you. It's not like I've got anything else to do except wait for Uncle."

Sokka couldn’t help but cheer, grabbing onto Zuko's arm. "Oh, you won't regret this!"

The prince sighed. "I already am."

———

"This place looks fun." Sokka commented as he and Zuko stepped off the ship. 

Spread out before them was a huge marketplace, hundreds of stalls and shops lining the crowded pathways. People from all walks of life meandered around, browsing the wares.

"You and I have very different definitions of fun." Zuko muttered, crossing his arms.

Sokka elbowed him lightly. "Do you even know what fun is?"

The other shot him a withering look. 

"Boys, wait up!" Iroh called loudly from the ship, making his was towards them.

"Oh, Uncle!" Sokka turned to face him with a smile. "Are you coming with us?"

Iroh stopped next to them and shook his head. "I figured you two wouldn't want me dragging along. Go have some fun, I'll meet you back here in an hour once I've found my lotus tile."

Sokka grinned, grabbing Zuko's hand. "Sounds good! See you in an hour!" He replied cheerily, dragging the prince off towards the shops. This was like a dream come true. It had been forever since they had hung out, just the two of them.

Zuko quickly wrestled his hand out of the other's grip and looked away. Sokka kept his smile on his face, refusing to let the action affect his mood. 

"Too tough to hold my hand?" He teased, wiggling his fingers at the other. 

"It's undignified." Zuko huffed.

Sokka waved his hand dismissively as they entered the main marketplace. "Like anyone here cares about that."

Zuko eyes glanced around at all the people surrounding them, taking in their appearances and attitudes. "...Maybe."

"Thank you." Sokka said with a grin, taking what he could get. "Now, lets do some shopping! If there's one thing I love about being your friend, it's how loaded you are."

"I thought it was for my personality.” Zuko stated with a straight face.

A beat of silence passed between them, before Sokka was clutching Zuko's shoulder, unable to breath. He was laughing so hard, he didn’t notice the way Zuko's eyes softened as he watched him.

"Holy shit, did you just make a joke!?" He eventually wheezed, looking back at the prince. The corner of Zuko's mouth were turned up.

"You did!" Sokka exclaimed happily, attracting the attention of some people nearby.

"You're making a scene." Zuko complained, no heat behind his words.

Sokka turned and coughed into his own fist. "Hypocrite."

Zuko grabbed his shoulder. "What did you just say?" He demanded.

Sokka smiled sweetly at him, easily slipping out of the prince's grasp. "I said 'hey, lets go look at those stalls over there'."

"That's not-!" Zuko cut himself off with a loud sigh, the other boy having already taken off towards the vendors.

Sokka's gaze flicked between the many shops as the prince caught up to him. A decent sized crowd was formed near the end of the path, catching his attention. 

Sokka tugged on Zuko's sleeve. "We've got to go check out whatever that is." He said, jerking his thumb towards the group of people. 

Zuko's face scrunched up in disgust. "No, we don't."

"It's too late!" Sokka replied, starting to walk off towards the crowd. "My feet are already going that direction, what a shame!"

Zuko scowled at the grin on the other's face, but followed after him anyway. 

"See the wonder in this bag!" A man called as they got closer. "Who's brave enough to look in this bag?" 

Sokka immediately lit up and turned to Zuko.

"No, no! Absolutely not." Zuko quickly forbid, already knowing exactly where this was going. "Don't you dare-!"

"My friend would like to look in the bag!" Sokka called out, waving his hand in the air. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko looked like he was about to strangle him. 

"Well then, step right up young sir!" The man said cheerfully, gesturing to the spot next to him. 

Zuko crossed his arms. "I'm not going."

"You're absolutely no fun." Sokka replied, brushing past him to go up to the man himself. "Someone decided that he was too scared, so I'm here instead."

"Fantastic!" The man exclaimed. "Now, are you sure you want to look in the bag? It's contents may very well scar you for life!"

"How bad can it be?" Sokka scoffed, taking the bag from him. He shot a grin at Zuko, who looked even more annoyed than usual, and opened the bag. 

Sokka immediately froze, his eyes going wide. He screamed and threw the bag to the ground.

"It's horrible!" He cried dramatically, pointing a finger at the man. "How could you do this to someone! You sir, are sick!" 

The man just looked confused.

Sokka then ran off, leaving the crowd murmuring in shock. Once he rounded a corner he stopped and smirked to himself, waiting for Zuko to catch up. 

The prince appeared a few seconds later, looking very grumpy. 

"What the hell was that?" Zuko demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the other.

Sokka laughed. "It's called acting, Zu."

Zuko sighed, letting his hand fall. "You are such an embarrassment."

"This is payback, my friend." Sokka replied, taking a step closer to link their arms together.

Zuko stiffened. "What are you doing now!? Let go!"

"Like I said, payback." Sokka grinned wolfishly. "Now, I want to check out some of the actual shops. I'd like to pick something up for Uncle."

Zuko grumbled quietly, but seemed to finally give in. Maybe he did actually want to help find something for Iroh? Well, whatever his motivation, Sokka was very pleased to have some quality time simply shopping with Zuko.

He lead the prince through the market place, stopping at a few of the stalls when something caught his eye. He and Zuko would then bicker about whether or not the item would suit Iroh. They eventually always agreed that it wasn't right, and continued on their hunt. However, after a while, they still hadn't found anything that felt good enough for Uncle. Sokka knew the older man would likely enjoy anything they got for him, but they wanted it to be something special. 

"We could try one of the boats." Zuko suggested gruffly after a while of searching, trying to seem like he didn't care too much about the whole thing.

Sokka nodded, turning in the direction of them. "That's not a bad idea. They're bound to have something interesting."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zuko looking pleased with himself. He placed a hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter, knowing that if he made any mention of it, Zuko would immediately go back to his normal, grumpy state.

"Hey you! Stop right there!" A man in green suddenly stepped out in front of them, holding a small jar. 

"Get out of our way." Zuko ordered, scowling at him.

"Not until you hear all about Hair's Blessing!" The man insisted, holding up the jar. He turned to Zuko. "Suffering from early baldness? This little beauty will regrow your hair in no time at all! It’s made with water that's been used in waterbending healing rituals. It infuses into your scalp and prompts increased hair growth! Hair's Blessing is guaranteed to show results within the first thirty days of use! So, would you care for a free sample?"

Zuko glared at the man. "I'm not-"

"Oh thank you kind sir!" Sokka interrupted him, placing a hand on the prince's arm. "My dear friend here has been struggling with hair loss for such a long time."

Zuko's eyes widened in anger. "Sokka!" He exclaimed, scandalized.

"He desperately needs your miracle product!" Sokka continued, trying very hard to keep in his laughter. "The loss of his hair at such a young age has left him feeling so depressed and angry lately. Please! you must help him."

The man nodded eagerly. "Of course! We'll cure him in no time! Take this sample of Hair's Blessing! Spread it all over where you want the hair to grow back."

Sokka took it from him, ignoring the smoke starting to pour off of Zuko. "You sir, are the blessing! Thank you so much!" 

He quickly pulled the prince away before he had a chance to incinerate the man. 

"What the fuck, Sokka?" Zuko demanded once they had gotten far enough away for him to cool down a little.

"First of all, language Zu. There's children around here. Second, you severely underestimate the comedic value of someone trying to sell you hair growth cream."

Zuko stared at him for a moment, before looking away. "I suppose... it is a little funny." He admitted, a hint of a smile on his face.

Sokka grinned widely and patted him on the back. "How about we go check out those boats now? I think I've done enough embarrassing payback for today." 

Zuko nodded, before hesitating for a moment. He eventually stuck his arm out, reluctantly inviting Sokka to grab on again. 

The other boy beamed, quickly linking their arms together before the prince had a chance to change his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta reader for coming up with the idea for the baldness cream!


	10. Chapter 10

"This place looks promising!" Sokka suggested, pointing towards one of the nearby docked ships.

Zuko eyed the boat with a thin veil of disgust. "...Really?"

The whole thing looked like it had seen better days. The wood was chipped and dented, and the sails looked to be stained in several different spots.

"The rough exterior just means it's got to have something really good inside it." Sokka replied, pulling the prince towards the boat. "Haven't you ever heard that one saying? Don't judge a book by its cover?"

Zuko sighed tiredly, barely fighting against him. "Are you really going to subject me to this on the slim chance that you're right?"

Sokka grinned smugly at him. "Of course."

They walked up the board that led onto the ship. Zuko scowled when the wood creaked beneath their feet, making Sokka snicker quietly. 

When they finally stepped inside, a quick glance around told Sokka everything he needed to know. The boat was quite cramped; all sorts of various objects, weapons, and scrolls crammed onto every available surface. A tough looking man stood behind a counter at the far end of the room, quietly chatting with another person.

Sokka paid them no attention, letting go of Zuko's arm to start searching around the shelves. There was so much weird crap in this place that there was no way they wouldn't find the perfect gift for Iroh. A few trinkets caught his eye every once in a while, but nothing that felt right.

"What about this?" Zuko suggested from somewhere behind him. Sokka spun around to face him.

Right in front of them sat a stone monkey, its face split wide with an unsettling grin. Two large, red gemstones were in place of its eyes. A few smaller ones wrapped around its neck like jewelry.

Sokka stared at it in amazement and horror, before turning to Zuko with a grin that rivaled the statue's. 

"This is fantastic, Zu!" He praised, grabbing the prince's shoulders. 

Zuko quickly looked away, his cheeks coloring slightly. "Of course it is.” He huffed. 

"Uncle is going to love this." Sokka replied happily, letting go of him to grab the monkey. 

"You lost them!?" A voice suddenly roared from the back of the shop, making the two of them pause.

"I'm sorry, captain! We've been searching the forest for ages, but there still no sign of the Water Tribe girl, or that little bald monk."

Zuko went stiff beside him, hyper focusing on the rest of the conversation. Sokka sighed quietly and set the statue back where he'd found it. He was a little sad that their shopping trip had to be cut short, but he understood. Zuko spent time doing what he wanted, so Sokka would help him fully, without complaint. 

The prince quickly made his way up the counter, Sokka only a step behind him. The two men turned in suspicion at their approach.

"This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?" Zuko asked, glancing between them. 

"Why do you want to know?" The tall man sneered, leaning forward slightly.

"They two of us are hunting him." Sokka stepped in to explain, not wanting these people (who were very clearly pirates) to know that Aang was the Avatar.  
"He and his accomplice stole from a Fire Nation town nearby." 

The other man scoffed. "Of course they did. The little bastards stole a very expensive scroll from our shop."

"Is that so? It seems like we're after the same people then." Zuko mused, his eyes sparkling in a way that said he had a plan. "How about we work together then? We know how they think, where they're most likely to hide, and you've got the numbers to locate them. Once they are captured, you'll have your scroll, and we'll have our thieves."

The two men exchanged a look, before the tall man nodded. "I'm the captain of this here ship. Let's head up onto the deck, and you can point us in the right direction."

The two boys followed him down a short hallway that lead to some stairs going upwards. 

Sokka subtly elbowed Zuko as they walked. 

"What?" The prince hissed, keeping his voice low.

"Dude, when did you get so suave?" Sokka asked quietly. 

Zuko raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?" 

Sokka quickly tried to backpedal, his cheeks darkening slightly. "Ah, it's nothing! Never mind!"

Zuko eyed him suspiciously, before turning back to face the man. They continued up the steps, eventually coming out on the ships deck. 

"So," The captain turned to them. "where should we be heading?"

"You said they escaped into the forest, right?" Sokka asked in clarification, getting a nod in response. "What kind of scroll did they take?"

"A waterbending one." The captain replied. 

Zuko stepped forward. "They'll be on the water then. The girl is a bender, and not a very good one at that. She most likely took it to practice."

———

They had been searching for a few hours, with no luck. The sun had already set, leaving torches as their only source of light. The pirates' boat glided smoothly down the river, Zuko perched near the front, still vigilant as ever. 

Sokka sat on a crate behind him, trying to keep his eyes open. The Avatar was probably long gone by now, but the prince wouldn't give up until he was absolutely sure of it.

"Zu, please." He tried for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. "They're gone by now. You need sleep."

Zuko looked back at him, determination in his eyes. "You can go if you want, I'm staying here. I know that he's around here somewhere."

Sokka sighed quietly and stood up, shuffling over to him. "If you're up, I'm up. I'm not leaving."

Zuko seemed to relax a little, nodding at him. He returned his gaze to the shoreline, leaving Sokka to regret getting off his crate. He closed his eyes and leaned up against the prince, too tired to notice how the other boy froze. 

Sokka didn't know how much time had past, before Zuko was shaking him fully awake. 

"Wha-?" Sokka mumbled, his unfocused eyes eventually landing on Zuko's almost manic face.

"Shhh!" The prince placed a hand over his mouth. "I heard some splashing in the distance! It's got to be them!"

Sokka pulling Zuko's hand off with a frown. "How do you know it's not just some animal? And why would they be practicing at night?"

"It's got to be them! I-"

The prince was cut off by a familiar girl's voice yelling. "Shit! Work with me water! Stupid scroll!" 

Sokka couldn't believe his ears. "That was the Water Tribe girl, wasn't it?" He asked resentfully.

The prince nodded, looking smug. "I'm going to go alert the pirates, if they didn't already hear that. Make sure you're fully awake for when we engage."

"Yea, whatever." Sokka huffed, watching the other boy run off. He tuned out the prince’s hushed commands, and tries to focus on the girl. 

She kept yelling about the water not obeying her, periodically letting out frustrated growls. There was also quite a bit of swearing involved, which Sokka didn’t really expect from her. 

“Ready?” A voice said, startling him slightly. Sokka looked over to see Zuko facing him, a gaggle of very eager pirates behind him. 

He nodded. “Yea, lets do this. What’s the plan?”

The captain stepped forward. “Some of my men have already left to quietly surround her.”

“Once they catch her, you and I will step in and question her to find the location of our other thief.” Zuko added.

As they neared the shore, Sokka could hear the girl’s frustrations turn to shock. She started yelling out for Aang, for him to come save her.

Once the boat landed, he made sure to grab a torch from one of the pirates. They all disembarked the ship and walked into a small clearing near the river. There, Katara was tied to a tree. Her face was red with anger, her teeth clenched as she strained against her bindings. 

“Let me go!” She yelled at the pirate to her left. “If you want the scroll, just take it and leave us-“ Katara stiffened once she spotted Zuko and Sokka, her expression twisting into rage. “You two! I should have known!”

Zuko stepped forward, keeping his face neutral. He leaned in towards her. “Tell me where he is, and I won’t hurt you.”

“Go drown in the river!” Katara snapped back. 

Zuko paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Try to understand,” He started again, beginning to circle her. “I need to capture him to restore something I’ve lost... my honor.”

The prince then smiled, but Sokka thought it was kind of creepy. 

“Maybe in return, I can restore something you’ve lost.” Zuko pulled out Katara’s necklace, holding it up near her neck. 

‘Yep.’ Sokka thought, frowning slightly at him. ‘Definitely creepy.’

“My mother’s necklace!” Katara gasped softly, before her eyes clouded over in anger once more. “How did you get that!?” She demanded.

Zuko slowly strolled away from her, returning to Sokka’s side. “I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re wondering. Now, tell me where he is.”

Katara’s expression hardened. “No.” She replied, not hesitating.

The two continued to argue back and forth, the prince getting progressively more and more frustrated. Sokka couldn’t help but tune them out, his attention attracted elsewhere. 

The end of a scroll poked out of one of the nearby bushes, like someone had hastily tried to hide it. While everyone was distracted by Zuko and Katara, Sokka slipped away to go investigate. He gently picked up the scroll and unraveled it a little. From what he could see, blue clad figures decorated the paper. This had to be the waterbending scroll. Sokka would eat his boots if it wasn’t.

“Enough of the necklace garbage.” The pirate captain yelled, stepping forward to interrupt the bickering. He turned to Zuko, sneering. “You promised us the scroll, not this childishness. We’re taking it and leaving.”

“No you’re not.” Sokka said loudly, everyone turning to look at him. He held the scroll up above his torch. “You guys seem to want this thing super bad. I’m guessing that’s because it’s pretty expensive. You and you’re crew will hold up your end of the bargain and help us find the monk. Then, and only then, will you get this scroll.”

The captain clenched his teeth. “Fine.”

“Go out and search these woods!” Zuko commanded the pirates, before heading over to Sokka. “Good thinking.”

“You know it.” Sokka replied easily, holding the scroll out to the prince. “Here, you take it. You’ll be able to burn it much better if they fall out of line. I’m useless if they manage to put out my torch.”

Zuko nodded and took it from him. “We’re so close to him this time.”

Sokka clapped him on the shoulder. “We got this in the bag.” He agreed. “There’s no way he can evade us for long.”


	11. Chapter 11

Sokka really needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut. 

Rays of light had began to peer through the trees. Bird started to chirp and sing with the rising sun. The light of day was upon them, and the Avatar was still nowhere to be found. 

Sokka sat on a rock, frowning as the warmth of the sun eventually touched his hand. He was supposed to be on guard duty while Zuko searched the forest with the pirates, but there was really no need for it. Katara clearly wasn't going anywhere any time soon. She had resorted to pestering him and trying to rile him up. 

However right now, she was strangely quiet. He glanced over at her, still bound to the tree. Her eyebrows were drawing together, worry seeping into her eyes. Katara knew that they hadn't found Aang yet, so was she still worried for his safety? 

Sokka followed her gaze to the sunlight that was slowly creeping across the grass. He sighed quietly and looked away, the pieces clicking together in his head. 

She was worried that Aang wouldn't come for her. 

Sokka quickly stood and stretched, the thought hitting a little too close to home. 

Katara's face hardened as her eyes landed on him. "Where are you going?" She asked harshly.

"To pee." Sokka replied automatically, coming up with an excuse. 

Katara sneered at him. "I bet you have a tiny-!"

"You two are always having quite the lovers quarrel over here." A smarmy voice said from behind Sokka, making him turn. One of the pirates was standing there, grinning like he'd just told the best joke in the world. 

"That's disgusting dude!" Sokka exclaimed, poking the man in the chest. "As if I would ever want to kiss bossy over there."

"Bossy?!" Katara screeched, her face going red with anger. "Oh I'll show you fucking bossy! Wait until I get my hands on you, shithead!"

The pirate laughed, slapping Sokka on the shoulder with more force than necessary. "Haven't you heard of a joke before, kid? Besides, the two of you look more like siblings than lovers."

Sokka froze, a deep sense of longing suddenly seizing his chest painfully. "Shut up." He growled, clenching his fists.

The pirate raised his hands in mock surrender. "Come on kid, there's no need to get your panties in twi-"

The man was cut off by Sokka's fist connecting with his nose. He cried out in pain and stumbled back, blood already beginning to seep down his face. 

"I told you to shut up." Sokka muttered bitterly. 

The man sneered at him and took off towards the boat, where a few other pirates were.

Sokka forced himself to take a deep breath. Once he had calmed down he turned, only then remembering the audience he had.

"So, it's true then..." Katara said quietly, making Sokka tense. "You really are from the Water Tribe. I saw your blue eyes and hoped it was just a mistake, some kind of birth defect..." She trailed off, her voice going think with emotion. "How could you do this!? How could you abandon your people for these monsters-!?"

"Don't." He whispered harshly, looking away. "Just don't."

A tense silence passed between them, before it was interrupted by the bushes across the clearing rustling. Sokka drew his sword, glad for the distraction, but lowered it once he saw who it was. 

Zuko parted the leaves triumphantly and stepped through the bush, pulling the Avatar along side him. More pirates began to appear out of the shrubbery behind him as he walked over to Sokka. 

"Look who I found." He said smugly, pushing the Avatar forward.

"Aang!" Katara cried, worry and relief lacing her tone. 

"Uh, hey Katara." Aang replied sheepishly, waving at her as best he could with his hands tied. 

Sokka forced a smile onto his face, trying not to let his mood dampen Zuko's victory. 

"Congratulations, Zu!" He said happily, throwing an arm around the prince's shoulder. "Looks like we're heading home, huh?"

Zuko nodded, his twinkling eyes giving away just how excited he was. "Yes, we are."

However, the moment was broken as the captain came up beside them, scowling. "The thieves you wanted have been captured. Now hand over the scroll."

Aang glanced between the two in confusion. "Wait, you guys only want the scroll back? I thought you'd want me and Katara as well."

The captain raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would we want common thieves like you?"

"Because I'm the Avatar." Aang stated simply.

Sokka's eyes widened as the pirates all stared at Aang in shock. One suddenly let out a loud whoop.

"Imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar! We'd be set for life!" He hollered.

Zuko quickly pulled out the waterbending scroll, and held it up above his own flame. "Stay back, or I'll burn your precious scroll!" He snapped.

The captain laughed. "Destroy the stupid thing for all I care! With the reward, we could buy a hundred of them! Men, bring me the Avatar!"

"You will regret crossing me!" Zuko growled as Sokka drew his sword. The prince launched a gigantic fireball at the pirates, which they all jumped away from.

One man recovered quicker than the rest and ran towards them. He threw small black pellets at them, which Sokka raised his sword to block. The first one smashed into his blade, erupting into smoke. He began to cough from the fumes, unable to see anything past the thick smokescreen.

Battle cries came from all around him, accompanied by the whoosh of Zuko's flames. He pulled his undershirt up over his nose, disorientated. 

Suddenly, he felt someone run into his back. He spun around just in time to catch a blade aiming for his head. The pirate laughed and swung again, their swords clashing once more. Sokka tried to see where the man was through the smoke, but none of him was visible. He was stuck defending against the unknown.

"Aang! Aang where are you!" Katara's voice shouted above the rest of the noise. Sokka grimaced as he blocked a side strike from the man. 

"I'm over here!" The Avatar called back, before crying out in terror. "Never mind! I'll find you!"

Sokka clenched his teeth in annoyance. He had to stop them from escaping, no matter what.

He continued to solely defend against his foe, waiting for the right opportunity. The next time Sokka's sword caught the pirate's, he shoved him as hard as he could. As the man fell to the ground, he turned and ran towards where he'd last heard the voices. Sokka dodged a few blades and other weapons that were swung his way, finally managing to escape the smoke cloud. 

He looked around wildly, first spotting Zuko fighting the captain. He also saw Aang and Katara climbing aboard the pirate's ship to escape. 

Sokka had to make a split second decision. Should he help Zuko, or go after the Avatar? 

He glanced at both options, and instantly knew which one to take. He sheathed his sword and sprinted towards the ship, throwing himself at the anchor that hung from the side. Sokka just barely managed to grab hold of the slippery, wet chain. 

He threw one final look back at Zuko, who was still fighting fiercely. He knew the prince could handle himself just fine, but he still couldn't help being slightly worried. This was Zuko he was talking about after all.

As Sokka turned back to the boat, it occurred to him that what he was doing was something reckless that the prince would normally do. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. This was for Zuko. This is what he would want.

Sokka grit his teeth and began the hard climb up the anchor. The voices of Aang and Katara drifted down from the deck, barely audible.

"I'm sorry Aang, this whole thing was my fault." Katara apologized sincerely. 

"Huh? What do you mean?" Aang asked in confusion.

Katara sighed. "I lead Zuko and the pirates right to us. I was practicing with the scroll last night, and they overheard me getting frustrated. I was just... jealous of you. You could waterbend so easily, and I got really competitive. I put both of us in danger."

"That's ok, Katara." Aang reassured her, his voice growing louder as Sokka continued hauled himself upwards. "I forgive you."

There was a pause, most likely them doing something sappy, before Katara spoke again. "Yea, who needs that stupid scroll anyway? Once we get to the north pole, we'll master waterbending in no time!"

Sokka's eyes widened. So, that was their destination, the northern Water Tribe.

He continued to climb, finally reaching the deck of the ship. He pulled himself up into it, quickly standing and drawing his sword.

The noise made both Katara and Aang spin around, their faces morphing into different versions of shock. 

It suddenly hit Sokka that he had no clue what he was going to do here. As good as he was with a sword, one of them was a waterbender, while the other was the fucking Avatar! This is why he liked making a plan! How does Zuko always do this impulsive crap!? 

"You!" Katara cried angrily. "How did you get on board!?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Sokka shot back, faking the confidence that said he knew that he was doing.

Aang took up a fighting stance. "We would like to know! That's why Katara asked!"

Sokka growled, pointing his blade at them threateningly. "Hand over the Avatar, and I won't have to hurt you."

"Like your toothpick is going to do anything against Aang!" Katara scoffed, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'll have you know-!"

Suddenly, the boat shuttered, throwing all of them to the ground. Aang quickly scrambled to his feet, running over to look over the side. He gasped, whipping back around to them.

"There's a waterfall!" He cried, pointing down river. 

Sokka ignored Katara's reaction, quickly looking to see if Aang was lying. He immediately spotted the sudden drop about a hundred yards away from the boat. As they grew closer to it, the sound of rushing water began to roar in his ears.

"We can stop the boat, come on Aang!" Katara called out, forgetting about the threat. "We need to push and pull the water!"

The Avatar ran over to her, and the two began to wave their arms back and forth in sync. The boat's speed began to drop, but their waterbending was not enough to completely stop it. 

Sokka quickly ran up to the captain's wheel and spun it, turning the boat to the side. It helped slow them more, but they still inched towards the edge.

"I got it!" Aang cried out, stopping his bending to pull out a strangely shaped whistle. He blew into it, but no sound came out.

Sokka grabbed onto one of the masts of the ship as it teetered over the edge. Suddenly, the flying bison appeared out of nowhere. Aang took Katara's hand and flew her safely onto the creature's back. 

Sokka watched them fly away as he finally went over the edge. For a split second, as he was falling, he could see a figure appear on the cliffs above. 

"Sokka!" A familiar voice cried out in anguish as his back slammed into the cold water below. 

The world went dark around him.

———

Sokka opened his eyes slowly, groaning at the soreness that weighed down his limbs. A glance to the right told him that he was back on their ship, in his room. On his left were Iroh and Zuko, the former smiling down at him.

"Welcome back to the land of the living!" Iroh said as Zuko crossed his arms beside him.

Sokka tried to pull himself into a sitting position. He struggled until Iroh quickly stepped forward and helped him.

"Ugh, that really sucked." Sokka muttered, rubbing his head. "I feel like Azula ran me over."

Iroh nodded. "I'm not surprised, you had quite the fall. You're lucky nothing is broken, or seriously injured."

Zuko scoffed beside him, looking away.

Sokka raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You wouldn't need to be lucky if you hadn't done that in the first place." Zuko muttered, looking away.

Sokka frowned. "I went after the Avatar like you wanted, like you would have done yourself. I'm finally doing what you want, and now you're angry? I just can't win with you!"

"You were completely alone!" Zuko shouted back, his fists clenching at his sides. "It was a stupid decision!"

Iroh tried to intervene. "Now, boys-"

"What is your problem!?" Sokka asked harshly, his hands gripping the bedsheet covering him. 

"What's my problem!? I'm not the one who threw himself off a cliff without thinking of the consequences! You-!" Zuko cut himself off and let out a frustrated growl, throwing his hands up into the air. Smoke had starting to seep from his palms. He turned without another word and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sokka scoffed and leaned back in his bed. "Ugh. Zuko is the most immature, hypocritical, selfish, rage filled jerk that-!"

"Cares about you." Iroh finished for him, stepping closer. 

Sokka deflated a little, looking away from the older man. 

Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder. "Zuko isn't actually angry at you, he's angry that he wasn't able to keep you safe."

"I don't need a babysitter." Sokka muttered halfheartedly.

Iroh chuckled slightly. "That is for sure! However, you know how fickle my nephew is. He is trying to communicate his fear to you, but sadly, most of what he currently knows is anger."

"I know." Sokka sighed wistfully. "Once I'm feeling a bit better and he's had time to cool off, I'll go and say sorry to him."

"You better make sure he apologizes too." Iroh insisted. 

"Of course!” Sokka replied, nodding. "But first, I want to tell you about the amazing day we had at the market!"

"Oh!" Iroh laughed, reaching into his sleeve. "Speaking of that, I've got the the funniest story for you! Remember the lotus tile I was looking for? Well, it was in my sleeve the whole time!" He pulled the tile out and showed it to Sokka, who doubled over in laughter.

"Holy shit, Uncle!" He wheezed. "Zuko is going to destroy that thing for how much trouble it gave us!"

Iroh grinned. "Oh, most definitely."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so excited to write this chapter

It had been about four days since Sokka had been stuck in bed. He was quickly beginning to get bored, especially since Zuko refused to come and see him.  
Iroh would stop by for a chat every once in a while, but Sokka could only hear about the newest tea he'd tried so many times.

Thank Agni he was starting to feel better. He could finally stand up, and spent the first hour or two of the day slowly shuffling around his room to get reacquainted with walking. It made Sokka's legs ache after a while, but It wasn't enough to stop him. Once he was mostly able to keep his balance, he headed for the door. He needed to find Zuko. 

Sokka kept one hand on the wall beside him to steady himself as he walked. He first checked the prince's room, since it was right beside his own. It was empty, which wasn't too surprising since is was the middle of the day. Zuko was probably off yelling at someone or training. 

Sokka continued to make his way down the hall, heading towards the communal area for the soldiers. One of them had to know where Zuko was. 

As he neared the room, he could hear the low murmur of voices from within. They all seemed to be complaining to one another, and Sokka froze once he realized who it was about. 

"I'm sick of taking his orders, and I'm tired of chasing his fucking Avatar." Someone that Sokka didn't recognize snarled.

Another scoffed. "Yea, who does he think he is?"

Sokka clenched his teeth. He knew the crew had been getting a little testy with Zuko. Ever since the Avatar appeared, the prince had been pretty nasty to their whole crew. More yelling, more snapping, more punishments for failure... and boy, did they fail a lot.

Sokka couldn't say he didn't understand where the men where coming from, but that didn't mean they weren't making him angry. Zuko maybe be far from perfect, but he wouldn't let anyone talk badly about him. 

Sokka clenched his fists, about to step in and confront the solders, when a third voice added to the mix.

"Do you really want to know?" Iroh asked solemnly, receiving shocked exclamations from the gathered men. 

"General Iroh!" One of the soldiers quickly tried to come up with a cover. "We were just-!"

"It's ok." Iroh reassured them in his normal, passive voice. "May I join you?"

"Of course, sir!" The man quickly replied.

Sokka peaked into the room just in time to see Iroh take a seat next to the group of soldiers. They all watched him curiously as he stroked his beard, deep in thought. 

"Try to understand," Iroh began, glancing around the room at all of them. My nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much."

Sokka tensed, expecting him to go on, but the older man paused. Iroh's head lowered very slightly.

"Sokka? Why don't you come out now?" He said suddenly, making the boy in question freeze. "I know you're there... You are welcome come join us if you want. However, I do not know if you wish to relive that day again."

The soldiers started muttering to each other in surprise as Sokka shuffled out of his hiding place. He kept his eyes glued to the ground as he made his way over to Iroh and sat down beside him, a sick feeling in his stomach. Everyone grew quiet, all attention on them.

He knew where this was going. He knew what horrifying story Iroh was about to tell. 

But, he also knew that he had to be here. He had to confront his fears.

The older man offered Sokka a small, comforting smile, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Iroh then turned back to the soldiers with a serious, sorrowful expression. "It began three years ago. The was a war meeting-"

"Wait." Sokka interrupted him quietly, placing a hand on Iroh's arm. He didn't know why he suddenly felt like this was his responsibility... he just did. 

"I..." He paused, gathering the strength to say the next few words. "I want to tell the story."

Iroh gave him a very concerned look, his grip on Sokka's shoulder tightening. "Are you completely sure?" 

Sokka took a deep breath, a lump starting to form in his throat. "Yea, I am."

———

"Zuko!" Sokka cried happily, barging straight into the other's room without knocking. "Today's the day!"

Zuko rolled his eyes fondly. "Normally, I'd lecture you on coming in unannounced, but today I'll let it slide."

"You are oh so generous, my prince!" Sokka replied dramatically, bowing. 

Zuko turned away and coughed into his fist, trying not to laugh. He was sitting on the large, four poster bed in the middle of his room. He was all cleaned up and dressed in some of his finest Fire Nation robes, his hair adorned with a very intricate hair piece that Sokka had given him as a gift.

Sokka quickly stood up straight and ran over to him. He grinned as he grabbed Zuko's hands and pulled him to his feet. "Oh, come on you party pooper! Show some excitement for once in your life! Just because you're a big boy now, doesn't mean you have to turn into some grouchy old man."

Zuko finally laughed, pulling his hands out of the other boy's in order to shove him. "Shut up! Don't call me that!"

"But it's true!" Sokka argued back playfully, poking the prince in the chest with his finger. "You finally get to sit at the big boy table with all those boring generals and whatever."

"It won't all be boring." Zuko defended, still smiling. "I'm finally going to get to see how our military is run. Attending these meetings will allow me to begin learning how to become a proper Fire Lord."

"Man, I know you're going to be a great Fire Lord no matter what." Sokka reassured him. "You just have to promise not to forget about me when you take the throne."

Zuko sighed fondly. "I could never forget about you Sokka, even if I wanted to." 

"Har har." Sokka replied sarcastically, walking Zuko over to the door. "Remind me why I trouble myself getting excited over your crap again?"

"Because you love me?" Zuko asked, smirking.

Sokka smacked Zuko on the arm. "Save that mushy stuff for Mai!"

Zuko's nose scrunched up in disgust. "I don't like Mai!"

"Of course you don't." Sokka agreed passively. "Anyway, you need to get going. Several people will have your ass, and in correlation my ass, if you don't get there on time. I just wanted to stop by and wish you luck."

Zuko nodded, a soft smile appearing on his face. "Thanks, Sokka."

"Of course! You just better meet me back here once it's over. Then you can tell me all about how boring it was." Sokka said with a grin, wrapping his best friend in a tight hug. "Knock 'em dead, Zu." 

Zuko nodded and pulled away from the other boy, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I'll be back before you know it."

———

Sokka clung tightly to Iroh's arm, his eyes wide and fearful. He couldn't tear his gaze away from Zuko, who kneeled on one side of long arena. 

This was the first time he'd ever been in here when the stands were full. He and Zuko had snuck in here once a few years ago to mess around. Uncle had eventually found them, and gently explained the horrible things that this place was used for. Sokka had laughed the whole experience off, never in a million years thinking that he'd have to witness it himself.

A firm, yet comforting hand laid on Sokka's arm. "You don't have to be here." Iroh said, even thought he already knew the boy wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

Sokka shook his head firmly. "Zuko will be fine, I believe in him..! You saw how confident he was that he could beat the old man." He nervously laughed, trying to convince not only Iroh, but himself that he wasn't terrified out of his mind for Zuko.

Iroh sighed solemnly, turning to look at his nephew. "All we can do now, is hope." 

Another figure, the general, slowly walked into the area, keeping his face hidden. He took his place at the opposite end from Zuko, and knelt down. There was a call for silence, and all the chattering from the spectators ceased.

Sokka held his breath as everything went quiet, the only sound he could hear was his pounding heart, and the roar of blood in his ears.

A gong sounded and Zuko sprang up, quickly assuming a fighting stance. The other man, however, stood slowly, the cloth around his shoulders fluttering to the ground.

Iroh suddenly went stiff beside him, his eyes widened in pure, unbridled fear. "Oh, Zuko." He whispered thickly as the man turned around.

There, in front of the prince, in front of everyone, stood the Fire Lord. 

Sokka gasped, unable to even fathom what he was seeing. Why was Ozai up there?! It had to be some kind of mistake! He couldn't possibly expect Zuko to duel him... right?

"Uncle, what's going on!?" Sokka asked desperately, unable to take his eyes off of the look of terror on Zuko's face. 

"Zuko may have spoke out against the general, but he did so in the Fire Lord's war room." Iroh answered grimly, wrapping an arm tightly around Sokka. "There's nothing we can do now."

Sokka began to tremble, a white hot streak of rage shooting through him. "That's bullshit! That's not fair! He can't- He can't do that! He's not really going to fight Zuko-!?"

Iroh pulled Sokka closer, his eyes glossy. "He's the Fire Lord. He can do whatever he wants."

Zuko threw himself to his knees, looking up at Ozai with wide, pleading eyes. "Please, father! I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"

The Fire Lord came up to him slowly, a hardened, emotionless look on his face. If you didn't know what was going on, you would have thought he was looking down at a stranger. 

"You will fight for your honor." Ozai commanded, making Zuko flinch. 

The prince quickly bowed lower, touching his forehead to the stone floor. "I meant you no disrespect." He insisted desperately. "I am your loyal son!"

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" Ozai snapped back, ignoring his sons pleas for mercy. 

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, his entire body tensing. "I won't fight you."

"You will learn respect." Ozai growled, stopping right in front of him. Zuko weakly pulled himself up to look at him, his entire body trembling. Tears stained his cheek as their eyes finally met. "Suffering will be your teacher."

Sokka would never forget the way Zuko screamed. 

"ZUKO!" He shrieked, lunging towards where the prince lay writhing on the ground. The cheers of the crowd around him swallowed up his cry as Iroh's strong arms held him in place. Sokka struggled in the older man's grip, clawing at him as tears poured down his face. He begin sob as Zuko collapsed onto the ground, unmoving. 

Ozai didn’t even spare his son a second glance.

———

Zuko’s scar was the first thing Sokka’s eyes locked onto. 

Normally, he barely even acknowledged its existence. He had become used to the rough, discolored skin in the three years they had spent at sea. It became just another part of Zuko’s appearance. 

However, in the moment, Sokka couldn’t see past it with the memories so fresh in his mind. His hands began to tremble, and he clenched them to try and to get them to stop. It wasn't as bad as it had been when he was telling the story earlier, but he still felt a little annoyed that he was being affected this badly just thinking about it.

Sokka took a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart, and started to make his way over to Zuko. The prince had been watching over various crew members as they tidied up the deck, his entire body going ridged once he spotted Sokka.

The prince crossed his arms with a huff as he stopped next to him. "Why are you here?" Zuko demanded, trying to sound aloof. Sokka could instantly tell that he was faking it, but apparently he was the only one. The crew quickly cleared out, not wanting to be caught in one of the prince's shouting fits. 

Eventually, the two of them were left alone on the ship's deck. 

"I need to apologize." Sokka began firmly, making Zuko's posture relax by a fraction. "I know you were just worried about me."

Zuko looked away from him, his mouth pressing into a firm line. "...I was." He admitted gruffly. "I... didn't mean to yell at you."

"I didn't mean to either." Sokka replied, laying a gentle hand on his arm. “It's just... that's how I feel every time you go off and do stuff like that. It's..." He paused, trying to stop the freshly recovered memories from invading his mind again. "...It's scary." He confessed quietly.

Zuko's expression morphed into a frown, his eyes shining bright with a new understanding.

"...How about we make a deal?" Sokka suggested, looking down to meet his eyes. "It'll be a mutual agreement from both of us to not to pull anymore stupid, solo stunts."

"...Well-"

"Especially, if they involve the Avatar." Sokka added pointedly, giving him a look.

Zuko’s cheeks colored slightly from embarrassment, but nodded anyway. 

Sokka gave him a meaningful, relieved smile, and stuck out his hand for the prince to take. "From now on, we're in this together."

Zuko clasped his hand firmly. "Together."


	13. Chapter 13

"Zu, man, you got to trust me here." Sokka pleaded, placing a hand on the prince's shoulder. "You absolutely can't put that tile there. It is one hundred percent a trap."

Zuko groaned, looking up from the Pau Sho table in front of him to glare at Sokka. "I can beat him on my own! I don't need your useless input!" 

Across from them sat Iroh, a sly, amused smile on his face as he watched the two boys bicker.

"I'm telling you, if you move there, you're done!" Sokka insisted. "You need to go to the left!"

Zuko completely ignored him and reached out, placing the tile right to the right. Sokka threw his hands up as the old man beamed. 

"I win." Iroh said simply, looking between the two with a pleased expression.

Zuko instantly whirled around to face Sokka, jabbing him in the chest. "Don't you dare-!"

"I told you so!" Sokka boasted, laughing as the prince's face grew red. "Suck it Zu! I was right!"

Zuko scoffed loudly and rolled his eyes. "You don't have to be so immature about it." He snipped. 

"It's like you don't even know me!" Sokka said dramatically, throwing a hand across his forehead.

Iroh chuckled, quickly turning to cough into his hand to hide it. 

Zuko glared at him anyway. "Don't tell me you're on his side, Uncle!" 

Iroh cleared his throat, an amused grin still decorating his face. "Actually, either move would have caused you to lose. You should have moved straight."

There was a beat of silence, and then Zuko slowly turned his head towards Sokka, his expression blank except for a manic gleam in his eyes.

"Don't you look at me like that!" Sokka exclaimed in defense, raising his hands up in front of him. "I believed I was right and it’s my duty to make sure you knew-" Zuko stood up. "-but, but! I admit it! I admit I was wrong!"

Zuko stared at him for a good couple of seconds, until a small, genuine small broke out on his face. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that-"

"Oh, fuck you buddy." Sokka cut him off, crossing his arms. Zuko laughed quietly, and it suddenly hit Sokka how much he had missed that sound.

"Zu-"

A loud horn cut him off, making the prince's mouth turn down into a scowl. Sokka couldn't help the small flicker of disappointment inside him.

A large shadow began to slide through the window, following by the shiny black side of a ship. It was clearly Fire Nation, and the sheer size of the vessel meant that it could only belong to a higher rank. 

"Zhao." Zuko hissed, wisps of smoke starting to rise form his clenched fists. 

Sokka sighed deeply as the prince stormed out of the room, most likely heading up to the deck to see what the commander wanted. Of course fucking Zhao had to show up and ruin their rare moment of happiness. 

The spirits must really, really hate them.

———

Sokka and Iroh emerged from the ship to find Zhao and Zuko already staring each other down. As they approached, the commander's eyes slid over to them, the smug smile on his face growing wider. 

"Ah, General Iroh! I'm so glad you could join us." Zhao said with false cheeriness.

Iroh bowed, a pleasant grin on his face. "It is nice to see you, Commander Zhao." 

Sokka just crossed his arms and glared at the man.

Zhao laughed lightly. "Actually, it's admiral now." He corrected. "Finding the Avatar has been given top priority. The Fire Lord promoted me to lead the hunt."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sokka could see Zuko stiffen. 

"All information must now be reported to me." The admiral continued, looking back to the prince. "You don't have anything to tell me, do you?"

"I don't." Zuko hissed, trying to keep his temper under control.

Zhao took a step closer to him, a malicious glint in his eyes that Sokka didn't like one bit. "Are you sure about that?"

"He already told you, we know nothing more about the Avatar than you do." Sokka snapped, not able to control himself. Zhao whipped around to look at him, sending a spike of fear through his body for speaking out of turn.

Sokka tensed as the admiral sauntered over, nothing but disgust and contempt in his cold eyes. When Zhao stopped in front of him, he was suddenly aware of how big their height difference was. Sokka slowly looked up to meet his gaze, not backing down despite how loud his heart was pounding in his ears.

"You really ought to teach your little pet some manners, Prince Zuko." Zhao said with a sneer, trying to get a reaction out of him. Sokka could feel his blood start to boil, and grit his teeth, trying to tune the man out. "I really don't understand why it thought that it could interrupt our important conversation." The admiral leaned down, getting in his face. "I thought you would have learned your place by now, you savage-"

"Get off my ship." Zuko growled, a cloud of black smoke pouring off his body. 

Zhao straightened up to look back to him, annoyed. "Excuse me?"

"I said, get the fuck. off. my. ship." Zuko repeated, flames curling up from his tightly clenched fists. "If we find anything out about the Avatar, you be the first to know, but right now, you are no longer welcome on this ship."

Zhao narrowed his eyes at the prince, before turning to the few soldiers that he had brought with him. "It seems we must be going, men. The hunt for the Avatar is on."

And with that, they crossed back over to Zhao's own vessel. Sokka watched them go, unable to relax until they had finally begun to sail away. 

He sighed quietly in relief, thanking Agni that Zhao was gone. He didn't know that there would ever be anyone to rival Ozai's spot as most despicable, but the commander- sorry, admiral, was a very close second. 

Sokka shifted and opened his mouth to say something to Zuko, but the words died on his tongue when he saw him. The prince had a sorrowful, far away look in his eyes. All the fire that had been raging inside of him was suddenly gone, replaced by an unusually blank stare. 

"Zu?" Sokka asked hesitantly, reaching a hand out towards him slowly. The second his fingertips brushed against the other boy's arm, he seemed to snap out of it a little. "What's up?"

"I..." Zuko voice came out slightly strangled, his eyes flickering between Sokka and his uncle. Iroh stepped forward, a kind, gentle smile on his face. 

"Do not give up, Zuko. You can still catch the Avatar before Zhao." The older man reassured, almost like he was reading the prince's mind. 

Zuko looked like he wanted to say something more, his face softening for a fraction of a second. In that single moment, Sokka could see how scared his friend really was, the fear he normally kept hidden under lock and key displayed for them to see. He wanted to reach out to Zuko, to comfort him in anyway he could, but it was gone too soon. 

The prince's face suddenly hardened, any trace of his emotions wiped away. Zuko spun away from the two of them with an angry huff, and stormed away without another word.

"Zu, wait!" Sokka called after him, ready to chase the prince down, but a firm hand landed in his shoulder. He glanced back to Iroh, who shook his head slowly. 

"Zuko needs time to sort this out on his own. I fear that if we try to comfort him, he will only get angry again." The older man explained gently.

Sokka sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "I hate this." He muttered bitterly, running a hand down his face. "I hate that he won't talk to me anymore. It seems like for every step forward we take, I always get thrown back two more."

Iroh released him, sorrow bleeding into his features. "We must have patience." He replied quietly, looking away. 

Sokka stood up straight, throwing once final glance at the door Zuko had disappeared into. "Yea... I know."

Iroh patted him gently on the back, before motioning towards the front of the ship. "I think we need a little pick me up. How about I gather some people and we have a music night under the stars?

Sokka gave the older man a tired, grateful smile, relieved for a way to distract from his racing mind. "That sounds nice."

———

"-Winter, spring, summer, and fall." Iroh's voice rang out clearly across the cool, evening air. The low twang of several stringed instruments accompanied him, played by various members of the crew. 

Sokka sat to the side of the makeshift band, watching the embers of the campfire in front of them swirl up and disappear into the dark sky as Iroh continued to sing.

"Winter, spring, summer, and fall. Four seasons, four loves. Four seasons-"

"for love." Sokka finished quietly along with him. The small crowd that had gathered to listen gave a few hoots and claps, congratulating Iroh and the band on their performance. Sokka smiled slightly at how bashful the older man was pretending to be, secretly loving the attention. He stood up and stretched, glancing up at the moon to see how much time had passed. Despite everything, he still couldn't get Zuko out of his head.

"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" Iroh's voice asked from beside him, making him look back down.

Sokka sighed in response. "I was thinking about going down and asking him if he wanted to join us." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know this isn't really Zuko's scene, but I thought it might cheer him up too, you know? And Agni knows I don't want to have another emotional talk with the guy. I seems like that's all we do these days!"

Iroh chuckled quietly, patting him on the back. "I think that's a great idea. Alone time is beneficial, but too much can become a problem."

"I'll be back soon, ok Uncle?" Sokka said, already taking off towards the entrance to the lower part of the ship. "Don't play any of the good songs without me!" 

He quickly made his way to Zuko's room, a slight bounce in his step. If the prince agreed to come, Sokka was definitely going to force him to dance. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd seen him just let loose.

Sokka finally came up to Zuko's door and gave it two solid knocks. He tapped his foot as he waited for the other boy to answer, frowning as the seconds ticked by. Worry started to seep into his mind. Zuko always answered his door right away. 

Sokka bit his lip, wondering if he should just go in and risk the prince's further wrath, or try knocking again. 

"Zu? I'm coming in now! Sorry in advance!" He called out, turning the knob and pushing the door open. 

The room was empty, no sign of Zuko anywhere. Sokka hesitantly stepped inside, and looked around. Nothing was amiss at first glance, until his eyes landed on the wall on the far side of the room. Both of Zuko's swords were missing. 

Sokka sighed in relief, placing his hands on his hips. He had gotten himself worried over nothing. Zuko had most likely just taken the swords and left to train somewhere by himself. 

Sokka couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the prince was gone, but to be honest, he was mostly used to it by now. He turned and left Zuko's room, closing the door behind him.


	14. Chapter 14

Sokka wiped the sweat from his brow, silently cursing the bulky Fire Nation uniform he was forced to wear. He felt so sticky and gross, wanting nothing more than to turn around and head back to the ship for a shower. Why in the world did the people that lived in the hottest areas need so many layers? 

He sighed quietly and glanced over at Zuko, who was walking determinedly beside him. Of course, the prince was showing no signs of being overheated, not that he was expecting anything different. 

Sokka shook his head and focused back on the dirt road that stretched out in front of them. He didn't have to look back to know that the soldiers traveling with them weren't affected by it either. Normally Sokka could handle the heat of the Earth Kingdom, but there was something different about this area. It almost felt like he was back in the Fire Nation.

"Sokka, look at this!" Zuko's voice barked from a little ways away. Sokka blinked and turned towards him. He hadn't realized the prince had left his side.

"What did you find?" Sokka asked, sauntering over to him. The other boy was standing in front of what looked to be a wooden notice board. The symbol of the Fire Nation was engraved near the top. 

"Looks like they've officially announced that their looking for him." Zuko growled, jerking his thumb towards one of the papers stuck to it. Sokka followed his gaze to find Aang's picture staring right back at him. "Everyone's going to be after the bounty now."

"Damn..." Sokka whistled, his eyes catching on the amount printed near the top. "They're really offering a lot for his capture." 

Zuko grumbled angrily in response. Sokka couldn't help but chuckle, casually scanning the rest of the flyers that were tacked to the board. Most of them he recognized or had heard of, except for one, which piqued his interest. 

"Hey, have you ever heard of the 'Blue Spirit' before?" Sokka asked, turning to face Zuko. 

The prince froze for a split second, before quickly ducking his head to cough into his fist. "No."

Sokka narrowed his eyes at Zuko. It never ceased to amaze him how bad his friend was at lying.

"Alright, whatever." He said, shrugging casually. It was probably best to just drop the matter for now. "I was just asking. No need to be so uptight."

Zuko nodded stiffly, quickly heading back to the road they'd been walking along. Sokka rolled his eyes at the prince's dramatics and followed him.

———

Thankfully, the village they were heading to wasn't much farther away. From a distance, everything about it looked normal. However. as soon as they stepped foot inside, Sokka knew that something was off.

The people went about their day, seemingly oblivious to the Fire Nation convoy that had just shown up on their doorstep. Not one person was panicking or fearful. One woman even wished him a good afternoon as she walked past. Sokka couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.

And apparently, Zuko couldn't ether. 

The prince grabbed the next person who walked near him, a young man, and roughly dragged him close. Strangely, the man didn't react in the slightest, a pleasant smile stretched across his face.

"What is going on here?" Zuko demanded. "Why are you all acting.. normal?"

"Aunt Wu said that visitors would be coming today, but that they wouldn't harm anyone." The man explained as if anything he just said made sense.

Sokka shook his head and stepped towards them. "Wait, wait, wait..! What do you mean she 'said'?"

The young man's eyes turned to him. "Aunt Wu predicts everything that's going to happen. She's always right."

Sokka stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, before breaking out in laughter. "You're shitting me, right?!" He asked, not able to wrap his head around what he'd heard. 

The man shook his head. "Of course not! Aunt Wu protects our village! She predicted that the volcano would not harm our village, and the Avatar saved us!" 

"The Avatar was here?" Zuko butted in, hoping for confirmation of the rumor they'd followed here.

"Sure was! You see that rock over there?" The man pointed behind himself, towards a huge stone wall that rose up over the south end of the village. "The Avatar made it so that the lava from the volcano wouldn't destroy us."

Zuko scoffed and let the man go, satisfied but annoyed with his answers. Sokka, however, was not. 

"Wait just a minute!" He said, grabbing the man's shoulder. "Who exactly is this Wu woman? What did you mean that she predicted the Avatar coming?"

"Well, Aunt Wu is the village's fortune teller." The man replied simply.

Sokka's eye twitched. "A fortune teller, really?" He asked sarcastically.

The man nodded cheerfully. "Yep! She helps out all of us by reading our fortunes, free of charge! She helps out with your love life, family matters, anything! She even told me that I was going to be late for work today and well, here we are!"

Sokka growled in frustration and let go of him. "I'm sure she did." He snarked. "Where would we be able to find this Wu?"

"That building over there." The man answered. "Now, could I go please? I don't want to be too late."

Sokka gestured for him to leave, before spinning around to face Zuko. "We've got to go see her."

The prince rolled his eyes. "Fine, but only because I want to question her about the Avatar. I don't understand why you're so obsessed with disproving this stuff."

"Because it's obviously fake!" Sokka exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I am a man of science! There is no way that this woman is actually telling people their fortunes and crap!"

Zuko looked at him deadpanned as they approached the building. "We know someone who's been to the spirit world before."

Sokka just stuck out his tongue towards the prince. He reached forward to open the door to the building, but before he could even touch the handle, it slid open to reveal a smiling little girl. She had two frizzy pigtails that stuck up from her head at different angles.

"Hi! I'm Meng! You must be the two visitors that Aunt Wu was expecting today!" The girl said excitedly, stepping aside to let them enter.

"Oh, she was expecting us, huh?" Sokka muttered, following Zuko inside. He glanced around the room for anything suspicious, but instead, his gaze landed on a bowl of some kind of food. 

Meng followed his eyes, grinning wider when she noticed what he was looking at. "Those are Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs, help yourself! I'll go tell Aunt Wu that the two of you are here!"

Sokka quickly made a beeline for the puffs, and shoved one in his mouth. It was heavily, especially compared to what he'd been forced to eat on the ship for the past few years. He began to stuff his face, completely forgetting why they were here. Only a sharp cough got his attention.

Sokka looked up to see Zuko staring down at him, one eyebrow raised. Faint amusement sparkled in his eyes. "Did you forget something?"

Sokka quickly scrambled to his feet, two curd puffs still clenched in both his fists. "Right, right! I have to disprove that she's a fortune teller-!"

Zuko smacked him in the arm. "The Avatar, idiot!"

"Hey! Watch it! I could have dropped one of the curd puffs!" Sokka whined, shielding them from the other.

"Oh yea? Well I'll-!"

"Please don't fight in here, boys." A voice interrupted him, getting their attention. In front of them stood an older woman, smiling warmly at them. 

"Are you Aunt Wu?" Zuko questioned, getting right back to business.

"I am." She confirmed. "I've been waiting for you two. The spirits must have some important knowledge to give you."

"We only want to know about the Avatar." Zuko said, crossing his arms. "I was hoping you'd tell us about him."

"I will allow you to question me, as long as I can read your fortune in response." Aunt Wu replied calmly, looking between the two of them. "Both of your fortunes."

The two boys exchanged a brief look.

"Fine." Zuko eventually agreed, crossing his arms.

"You shall be first then." Aunt Wu said, gesturing for the prince to follow her. They disappeared into the back room, leaving Sokka all alone with the little girl.

"Would you like some more curd puffs?" She asked, motioning to the almost empty bowl near Sokka's feet. 

He nodded. "Definitely. Those were super tasty."

Meng beamed with pride. "Thanks! I actually helped Aunt Wu make this batch."

"Well, you did a good job then." Sokka praised, settling himself back down on the floor.

Meng giggled, her cheeks tinting a slight pick color. "I'll be back with them soon!" She said quickly, running off down the hallway beside her. 

Sokka shrugged, popping the last two puffs into his mouth. Meng eventually returned with more, which he devoured just as quickly as the first ones. 

"Wow, you sure have a big appetite!" She commented as he finished off the second batch. "You have pretty big ears too."

Sokka blinked in confusion. "Wha-?"

Suddenly, the door to the back room shot open with a loud bang. Sokka quickly jumped up as a completely red faced Zuko stormed out. Aunt Wu appeared behind him, looking worried. 

"Dear, please calm down-"

"Shut up!" Zuko yelled, thin wisps of smoke curling off of him. "You were right Sokka, she's nothing but a liar! I'll be waiting outside!" 

The prince quickly left the building, slamming the door behind him. Sokka snapped his head towards the woman, fixing her with a hard look. "What did you say to him?"

Aunt Wu sighed, placing a hand on the door frame. "The boy simply didn't like what his future held."

Sokka scoffed, walked up towards her. "Lets just get this over with then, a deal's a deal. Just make it quick, in case I need to go calm him down before he destroys the whole village."

Aunt Wu nodded and stepped aside, allowing Sokka to enter the room. It was mostly empty, aside from a large fire pit in the center that was surrounded by cushions. Aunt Wu gestured towards the closest one for him to sit. Sokka reluctantly listened to her. 

She took her own place across from him, and closed her eyes. "Choose a bone from the pile beside you, and cast it into the fire. Once it cracks, I will read them to know your fortune."

Sokka rolled his eyes, but obliged, picking a bone at random and throwing it into the fire. A few seconds passed, before a loud crack filled the room. Aunt Wu quickly leaned forward and plucked the bone out of the flames. She waved it around a little to cool it off, before examining it closely.

"I see..." She muttered, looking up to meet his eyes. "You're future is full of struggle and anguish. Most of it will be inflicted by that other young man."

Sokka's eyes widened slightly, his hands unconsciously gripping the edge of his cushion. 

"However, if you have patience, loyalty will give you the happy future you deserve." She continued, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "Your love life will be prosperous. Many will come and go, but the one closest to you will be your soulmate. You have a connection that spans a lifetime."

Sokka couldn't help the small blush that appeared on his cheeks. There was a small bit of comfort and warmth that came with her words, even if he knew they weren't real. 

"Can you, uh... can you tell me anything else about her?" He asked shyly, embarrassed that he was giving in to her predictions.

Aunt Wu bowed her head at Sokka's request. "I'm afraid I can't. That is all the knowledge the spirits have given me, I'm afraid."

Sokka huffed, getting to his feet. "Sure, lady. Whatever." He muttered, trying not to show how disappointed he actually was. "I was right, you're full of it."

Sokka turned, missing the disappointed, pitying look on the older woman's face. He pulled open the door and left, walking off to go find Zuko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this update took so long. I had to leave town for a while to deal with some family issues, but now I’m back!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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